orchestrating student voices to build a community of · pdf fileorchestrating student voices...

Orchestrating Student Voices to Build a Community of Learners ASCD 68th Annual Conference and Exhibit Show Chicago, Illinois March 18, 2013 Presenters: Linda L. Carpenter, M.Ed. Jennifer J. Fontanini, Ed.D. Linda V. Neiman, Ph.D.

Copyright © 2013 Surviving to Thriving LjL. All rights reserved by authors. Permission to copy for single classroom use only. Electronic distribution limited to single classroom use only.

Not for public display

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®

We have prepared this PDF note taking handout. You may either

print hardcopy or open on your iPad or other electronic device.

Also available are handouts for activities we will model during

the presentation. For these and useful handouts from other

presentations, please visit our blog at

http://survivingtothriving.wordpress.com/presentations-

workshops-and-conferences/

Two Apps for taking notes on PDF documents:

o GoodNotes (free)

o Remarks ($4.99)

Open this PDF on your iPad.

In the upper right-hand corner choose Open in (your app).

Orchestrating Student Voices to Build a Community of Learners

Linda L. Carpenter, M.Ed.

Jennifer J. Fontanini, Ed.D.

Linda V. Neiman, Ph.D.

Proactively teach positive social skills: How to make friends, how to give compliments, what to do if someone teases you or hurts your feelings. Don’t wait for negative things to happen (Sapon-Shevin, 2008, p. 51).

http://survivingtothriving.wordpress.com/presentations-workshops-and-conferences/

http://survivingtothriving.wordpress.com/presentations-workshops-and-conferences/



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Name Docs

• A name doc is something students create that includes their names and things about themselves in response to teacher-generated prompts.

• Name Docs include Name Posts, Name Tents, Name Tags.

• Students learn about each other and make connections

• Teachers learn about their students and make connections.

• Students learn about their teachers and make connections.

Connections

Top 8 List for Using Name Docs



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Ask students to share their Name Docs with the class.

Partner students up and ask each partner to introduce the other to the class, using the Name Doc.

Use as a ticket out the door. Use the student’s name and one of their interests as you say goodbye. “Thanks Taylor. I’m a Green Bay Packer fan too.”



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Staple Name Docs to a bulletin board to create a collage of students’ names and interests.Or, hang from the ceiling!

Use Name Docs to quickly take attendance.

Use Name Docs to arrange seating to set up for collaborative activities.



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Use Name Docs when you have guest speakers.

Place Name Docs in your sub folder or include a Name Doc activity for the substitute to use with your students.

Handouts & Resources Online• We have prepared a PDF note taking handout for our presentation

available at ASCD ?• Also available are handouts for activities modeled during the

presentation. • For these and useful handouts from other presentations, please

visit our blog at http://survivingtothriving.wordpress.com• Two Apps for taking notes on PDF documents:

– GoodNotes (free)– Remarks ($)

• To use:– Open this PDF on your iPad. – In the upper right-hand corner choose Open in (your app)



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Using Artifacts to Get to Know Each Other

I came to understand the power of artifacts to open up new stories, to enable the telling of a story, and to create a space for listening, which gives students more voice. Teaching artifactual literacy is, above all, about finding voice, particularly for those students who do not feel a part of the classroom (Elliot-Johns, Booth, Rowsell, Puig, & Patterson, 2012, p. 28).

Getting to Know the Teacher

• Three ways for you to use artifacts to introduce yourself to your students…

– iLyrics

–Me in a Bag

–BioPoint

• Use song lyrics to describe who you are.

• Use clips from songs, song titles or lyrics to allow your students to learn about you in a fun and creative way.

• Modeling unusual or creative ways to describe yourself, or anything or anyone demands higher order thinking skills.

• Really!

iLyrics



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Ms. Fontanini Song Scramble

I keep my life on a heavy rotation

Requesting that

it's lifting you

up, up, up

and awayAnd over to

a table at the

Gratitude Cafe

Ain't about how fast I get there.

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side.

It's the climb…

When I see your faceThere's not a thing that I would change'Cause you're amazingJust the way you are



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I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW THE RAIN IS GONE

I CAN SEE ALL OBSTACLES IN MY WAY

GONE ARE THE DARK CLOUDS THAT HAD ME DOWN

IT'S GONNA BE A BRIGHT , BRIGHT SUN SHINY DAY

Ms. Fontanini Song ScrambleI keep my life on a heavy rotationRequesting that it's lifting you up, up, up and awayAnd over to a table at the Gratitude Cafe

Ain't about how fast I get thereAin't about what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb

Mrs. Carpenter

Me in a Bag



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Me in a Bag

• Model first day of school

• Students will complete and share their Me-Bags during the first two weeks of school

• Handout for directions and letter to parents on our blog.

ME!

BioPointBiography PowerPoint

• My Family

• My Hobbies

• My Passions

Student BioPoints

• Students create their own BioPoints based on prompts generated from the teacher.

• Share five to seven student BioPoints per day during the first week of school.

• Students can create computer generated BioPoints using pictures and graphics or paper poster BioPoints.

• Pictures with or without words/music.



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In saying that a classroom or school is a community, then, I mean that it is a place in which students feel cared about and are encouraged to care about each other. They experience a sense of being valued and respected; the children matter to one another and to the teacher (Kohn, 2006, p. 101).

Building a Community of Learners

• Student Search--Jennifer

• Building the Brick Wall--Linda

• Getting to Know Something About You and What You Know--Neiman

• Number of prompts

• Fewer words—more graphics/pictures

• Types of prompts

• Format of activity sheets

Adapting Strategies for Different Age Groups



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The master teacher is deliberate in establishing a functioning learning community by devoting time and energy to building relationships. The relationship between the teacher and the student is perhaps the most significant piece of the learning equation, followed closely by the relationship among students (Carpenter, Fontanini, & Neiman, 2010, p. 80).

• What are your experiences with creating group norms, expectations, and/or rules personally and in your classrooms?

• With an elbow partner, share your experiences.

Student-Generated Classroom Norms

• Creates a positive learning climate/ professional learning community

• Creates an operating system for processes and communication

• Increases productivity and learning

• Provides means for conflict resolution

Why Set Norms?



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Stages of Class Dynamics

• Forming…the way in which groups or classes form is influenced by the norms set

• Norming…norms allow for introductions, operating, community building, and conflict resolution

• Storming…norms provide the means to resolve conflicts that will arise

Prompts for Creating Norms

How do we

• communicate?

• cove around the room?

• use our space?

• introduce ourselves to visitors?



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How do we

• welcome guests?

• resolve conflicts and differences?

• advocate for ourselves and others?

• manage voice volume?

• How do we create a classroom community that honors and respects all student voices?

• How do we help “young people develop the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed and reasoned decisions as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world?” (Wisconsin DPI: Wisconsin model academic standards for social studies introduction) http://dpi.wi.gov/standards/ssintro.html)

Publishing Norms

• Post on a wall in the classroom

• Post on a wall in the hallway outside the classroom

• Post on the class website

• Create bookmarks of norms that students carry with them

• Create a Norms Poster



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Implementing Norms

• Role Play: Demonstrate classroom norms

• Wrong-Way Role Play: Students create mini-scenes of poor behavior and student explain the problem and offer solutions

• Hey Grandma: Students write letters to grandparents, neighbors, parents, describing how their classroom norms work

Implementing Norms

• Brown Bag Moments: Norms are written on index cards, placed in a brown bag for students occasionally pull a card, explain the norm, and why it’s important.

• Picture Rubrics: Take pictures of students modeling the classroom norms and not modeling classroom norms. Use pictures as guidelines.

Connection between Norms and Social Justice

“…an unjust society is one in which access to goods and opportunities deemed the essential human rights of individuals is limited or denied, with little or no recourse to rule of law or commonly held societal values. This limited access can be experienced either by an individual or by a group of individuals marked by some identifying characteristic such as race, class, gender, ability, or language” (Chubbuck, 2010, p.198).



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Using Student Voices to Build Community

Every child is entitled to “equitable access to positive learning experiences and potential academic success” (Chubbuck, 2010, p.198).

A community of learners is established by hearing student voices. It is a deliberate process orchestrated by an effective teacher to ensure that every child has that access to powerful learning experiences and potential academic success.

Which graphic reflects how you feel about what you learned today?

Carpenter, L. L., Fontanini, J. J., & Neiman, L. V. (2010). From surviving to thriving: Mastering the Art of the Elementary Classroom. Dayton, OH: Lorenz Educational Press.

Chubbuck, S. M. (2010). Individual and structural orientations in socially just teaching: conceptualization, implementation, and collaborative effort. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(3), 197-210.

Elliot-Johns, S. E., Booth, D., Rowsell, J., Puig, E., and Paterson, J. (March 2012). Using student voices to guide instruction. Voices from the Middle, 19(1), pp. 25-31.

References



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References

Kohn, A. (2006). Beyond discipline: From compliance to community. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Sapon-Shevin, M. (2008). Learning in an inclusive community. Educational Leadership, 66(1), 51.

Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction. Wisconsin model academic standards for social studies introduction. Retrieved Jan. 31, 2013 from http://dpi.wi.gov/standards/ssintro.html

Surviving to Thriving Blog

• http://survivingtothriving.wordpress.com

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Linda Carpenter Jennifer Fontanini Linda Neiman

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