In my last post, I wrote about how to listen to Focus Students to reflect on and improve teaching practices. Who is better to inform teaching than the achievers in front of us, especially the quieter students and students from formerly marginalized groups? This weekend I started reading Liz Kleinrock’s Start Here, Start Now after a colleague recommended the text. I am already seeing many connections to the Focus Student process. I know there is much much more to the text, however, in this post I will briefly address connections to the Focus Student process.

When a teacher interviews a Focus Student, observes interactions via video, and tries new approaches as a result of the learning, a great deal of reflection is at place. It is important to also give achievers opportunities to reflect on learning and on their Power and Engagement in a classroom. Reflection can happen by journaling (words and pictures), discussing, and/or by creating an artifact. In order for reflection as deep as possible, model and provide prompts or sentence stems.

Some of the reflection questions that Kleinrock introduces are:

• “How did learning about __ make you feel?” This question can be used to gauge students’ emotions, and to show them that how they feel about experiences is important to the teacher.
• “Did you feel any personal connection to what we learned about today? If so, what did you connect to?” These questions help an achiever see connections in learning, and gives the teacher information on next steps and the stickiness of teaching.
• “What questions do you still have about this topic?” This reflection empowers students, especially when the teacher acts on the feedback. It is extremely useful in planning next steps.
• “On a scale of 1-10, how challenging was it to learn about this topic and why?” This questions helps a teacher ensure that experiences are within the Zone of Proximal Development (see also pages 125-6 in Start Here, Start Now.).
• “Are there any ideas connected to this topic that you’d also like to learn about?” Often students will see connections that teachers do not yet see. This question opens a teacher to new possibilities and demonstrates the importance of giving space for students’ voices.
• “As your teacher, how can I support your learning about this topic?” This question supports a learning partnership where the teacher is there to learn from their student. It also demonstrates being a Warm Demander if the teacher then strives to support the student in every way possible.

Kleinrock also provides some questions a teacher can use to assess their practice. I hope to wrap some of these into my personal reflection and to the Focus Student process.

• “How did students respond? 
• What did I learn about my students through the activity?
• What evidence do I have that the students feel seen in my classroom?
• Who speaks up the most? How are all students participating?
• Which students do I spend the most time with? Did I praise or redirect certain students more than others? Are there patterns?
• Did I use deficit-based language to describe any of the students (even if it’s internal self-talk)?”

These questions encourage deep reflection on power dynamics, beliefs, and impact, all of which are essential components in the self work of an antiracist educator.

I look forward to finishing the book in the weeks ahead and writing more about the rich resources provided. The ideas presented will fit beautifully with Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s Historically Responsive Literacy Framework, especially the Identity pursuit.

“The longer teachers teach, the better they are at their practice.
That practice may serve to empower students
or it may break the students’ spirit.
That decision belongs to the teacher.”
― Christopher Emdin

 

Resource:
Start Here, Start Now: A Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work in Your School Community, Liz Kleinrock
Zone of Proximal Development
Warm Demander
Learning Partnership
For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood… and the Rest of Y’all Too, Christopher Emdin