Week 15 Revisiting your view of yourself as a literacy leader

Each of you have come a long way on your journey to be literacy leaders where ever you are now and in whatever role you take on. I'd like for you to reflect on your growth as a literacy leader from the beginning of the semester.  Revise your glog to demonstrate that growth.  When you respond to this blog, embed your link to your glog in the comment.  Also briefly summarize where you think your greatest area of growth has been and why you think that is your greatest area of growth. Please do this by Dec. 3 at 5 pm.
Return to this blog after that time.  Using the links provided you, visit the glog of each of the other class members. What else do you see as their growth? Give one compliment about teh glog in general adn one compliment about how they have grown.  Please do this by Dec. 7 at midnight.  I'll be visiting as well.
By the time you read this, I'll have been in Kenya for about 10 days working with teachers there.  Part of our job is to help them become teacher leaders in early literacy. If I can, I'll upload pictures, or I'll add to this blog about my experiences, and what I am learning about myself as a literacy leader.

Week 14 Thinking about your learning

There is only one more week after this one in the semester. I have seen each of you grow as a literacy leader through your projects and blogs. I know I have grown in my understanding of what it means to rethink teaching and learning using new literacies as tools for thinking, collaborating, communicating. I've learned new things about myself as a teacher as well, and changes that have to come to my view of scaffolding, discussion, and time as well as what values I hold about teaching and learning that I don't want to change. I'd like you to think a bit about what you have learned, and about how this format has helped or how you may have had to change views of what it means to take a class when it doesn't meet face to face each week. So this week, while I'm in Africa, I'd like for each of you to respond to these  questions:
1. What are the 3 most important ideas that you learned about literacy leadership and coaching this semester? Why are each of them important to you? How will they inform your practice as a literacy leader, either as an informal one or as a reading specialist/literacy coach/director?
2. Which new literacy practices were supportive to you of your learning? Which ones do you think I need to modify and how to better support your learning?

Respond to these by 11/23. I appreciate your input and feedback.

Have a great Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for each of you and for the work you do to support the learning of the children that you teach.  

Week 13: Advocacy, Collaboration, Professionalism

This week you are only responding to my blog as we are meeting on Friday, Nov. 14 and Saturday, Nov. 15. chapters this week are related to advocacy, collaboration, and professionalism.  All three are key to being a successful literacy leader.  Think about your context. What opportunities are there for advocacy? As I write this on Nov. 5, I'm getting ready to be an advocate for research based reading instruction that is based on assessment of learners and is designed to meet their needs, and for teaching this in  my undergraduate classes. I will spend tomorrow afternoon with other professors and other stakeholders in a meeting to discuss "scientifically based reading methods" to teach children who may have dyslexia. I am an advocate for the preservice teachers and for children to ensure we are not mandated to teach one particular curriculum to teachers that they would unthinkingly use with all primary grade children. Next, think about collaboration. Why is it important? What does it mean to you? Finally, how do you define professionalism? I am going to have to try hard to remain professional tomorrow afternoon as I know we will be bombarded with messages about what others think should be taught in teacher education classes as well as the idea that if a curriculum package is good for some children with special needs, it is good for ALL children, and that it isn't really necessary to assess children to meet their particular needs.  Before reading, think about why advocacy, collaboration, and professionalism are important to a literacy leader. Write about what you think, and how you are defining each of those terms.  Then, when you read, compare what you said with what you think the authors are saying, and think about how what you read for the coming week is related to those concepts.
There are a number of chapters to read this week.  In the L&T book, everyone should read all of the chapters. In the WSQ book, half of you should read chapter 15 and half chapter 16. Finally, the EP&L part 5 has 6 sections, each of which has a reading specialist/literacy coach addressing challenges that a literacy leader or literacy coach might encounter as they are doing their job. I'll list below what the challenges are.  You should each choose a different one to read.  Be prepared to work with the other 2 people who read your WSQ chapter to share key ideas from your chapter and tie them to the concepts of advocacy, collaboration, and professionalism. Be prepared to describe the EP&L challenge you read about and answer questions about it.
 Previews to help you choose:
WSQ 15: What are new literacies/New Literacies? This chapter defines both of these concepts and provides principles for helping others integrate them into classrooms.
WSQ 16: This chapter discusses the role of parents in a literacy program, how to keep them involved adn how to connect to the community.
EP&L profiles: working with administrators (1), building credibility and relationships (2), working with resistant teachers (3), staying positive and involved (4), embedding literacy coaching in all of your other duties (5), becoming/staying organized (6)

Finally, bring a draft of Task 3 of the PD program development for peer review.  Bring a few ideas about possible grants as well, but remember, we will draft those in class. I would suggest that if you are in a school district that you look up your school foundation for grant requirements, and we will look for other sources as well. You won't be writing a blog this week as we will be together in class. Be sure to bring questions, ideas, etc.  I have chocolate for you.
See you all soon!