Feedback to Pedagogical Change: Focus Student to Teacher

We know that, as educators, implicit biases show up in the ways we teach. We also know that the best feedback we can get is from observing and reflecting on practice with a critical lens and, more importantly, asking our dreamers for feedback. (Note that I am using the term Achiever instead of Scholar to honor the funds of knowledge and expertise each student already has.) In this post I want to synthesize what I am learning about the “Focus Student” process. Engaging in a Cycle of Inquiry around a focus student can increase a sense of belonging, which leads to an increase in learning and a change in teacher practice adapted to the achievers with whom we engage.

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The Rights of Our Geniuses

I had the privilege of reading Ratchetdemic: Reimagining Academic Success, by Christopher Emdin, over winter break. I highly recommend the book for any educator! As people who work with, and care passionately about the young geniuses with whom we work, it is imperative to learn about ourselves and about how we show up in the classroom. Our students know best what will work for them, and we start with honoring who they are from the moment we begin building relationships with them.

“Being an educator is as much about learning as it is about teaching. Those who teach, especially those who teach with a full understanding of the privilege of teaching – and what it means for who they will become in the world – end up transforming our society and empowering the next generation.” ~ Christopher Emdin

 

In this post, I want to summarize one of the last points that Emdin makes in this powerful text: the seven rights that are “at the essence of teaching and learning.”

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My Why

It’s interesting to me that this, my 50th post, brings me back to my “why.” I’ve written in previous posts about the importance of knowing one’s why, and acting within one’s why.

“We are drawn to leaders and organizations that are good at communicating what they believe. Their ability to make us feel like we belong, to make us feel special, safe and not alone is part of what gives them the ability to inspire us.”
– Simon Sinek

 

Today I want to delve deeply into my why and the reasons behind my why.

My Why:
“Be a mirror to reflect back to our students their beauty and brilliance
so they feel: belonging, safe, heard, seen, valued, joy, and LOVED.”

 

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Protocols, Protocols, Protocols!

Yesterday I learned about the “Sailboat Protocol” and want to write today about the protocol because it has so many potential uses: for coaching partnerships, teams, and student engagement and empowerment. Protocols are powerful because they provide structure, interdependence, and language to collaborative conversations. Structure frees up our energy and thinking so that we can hear all voices in the room and create transformational ideas together. The “Sailboat Protocol” is a useful way to address personalization and equity because it is a structured protocol and because of the steps that keep the focus on addressing barriers and moving towards our desired state.

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Feedback from Students: Cogenerative Dialogues

The past five posts have focused on effective feedback to and from colleagues. Today’s post will focus on the critical importance of gathering feedback from our students, specifically on the process of Cogenerative Dialogues (Cogens). Students are the experts on their experience, and on what works best for their learning processes. Teacher planning and revising should begin with listening to the voice, experiences, and interests of our students, especially the students who have been formerly marginalized. As we center their voices, a sense of belonging strengthens; students feel safe, seen, heard, and loved.

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Pedagogy of Voice

Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation is a text I highly recommend! I cannot put the book down and know that it is going to drive much of my coaching and continuous improvement work around equity next year. In this post I want to highlight a section of the book on Pedagogy of Voice. This section connects to my past four posts on feedback.

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Constructive Feedback

In my last post, I began a summary of Tell Me So I Can Hear You, by Drago-Severson and Blum-DeStefano. In this post, I want to continue the summary by focusing on constructive feedback and bridging feedback into action. Action is where the impact of change is felt, and where we can develop more equitable schools and teaching practices.

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Effective Feedback

Three months ago I started learning to play the piano. I’m using an app that listens to what I play and gives me feedback. It slows down if I need a slower pace, and has me repeat sections that are difficult. I also get emails indicating if I haven’t practiced in awhile and congratulating me when I’ve completed a practicing streak. Reflecting on this positive experience and how quickly I’m learning to play and reflecting on the conversations in which I have received valuable feedback, I decided to reread and synthesize a few books on giving feedback to educators. Today I will summarize one of the books: Tell Me So I Can Hear You, by Drago-Severson and Blum-DeStefano.

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We Got This: Tools for Teams and Teachers

This year, a team of teachers at my site read the book We Got This. Equity Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be, by Cornelius Minor. I highly recommend the text, in order to become a more reflective teacher, to center student voices, and to ensure that classroom practices and curriculum work for students. It is a rich source of planning and reflection tools. In this post, I want to share a few of the tools that we have used and found to be extremely useful.

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Having a Positive Racial Identity

There are many strategies and ideas for developing/deepening identity, in order to be an anti-racist human. This starts with knowing the “Why” and includes developing understanding of the intersections of the different parts of one’s identities. Below find some ideas around identity exploration.

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