Stenhouse Newslinks
December 21, 2006

C O N T E N T S

1) Author Conversations: Pat Johnson
2) Standardization erodes teacher professionalism
3) PD Corner: Observation: assessment that informs
4) Engaging the family to build community and literacy
5) Season's greetings from Stenhouse

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1) Author Conversations: Pat Johnson
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"I kept getting similar questions from teachers: 'How can I help 
the child who's really struggling--not just a little bit behind 
grade level, but a child who's really struggling in my classroom.' 
What if we looked in closely at that one child? We would learn how 
to observe with an eye and an ear toward what it is that this 
child can do, can almost do, or can't do at all."

Pat Johnson has spent most of her career working side-by-side with 
elementary classroom teachers in Fairfax County, Virginia. In our 
latest audio podcast, Pat talks about her new book One Child at a 
Time: Making the Most of Your Time with Struggling Readers, K-6. 
Listen here:

http://www.stenhouse.com/johnson.asp?r=n102

You can browse the entire text of One Child at a Time online:

http://www.stenhouse.com/0434.asp?r=n102

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2) Standardization erodes teacher professionalism
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"I didn't have to think. But what sort of teaching is it when I'm 
not required to think?"
--Sarah, a pre-service English teacher in Australia, after 
teaching a scripted phonics lesson

In this opinion piece from The Age (Melbourne), teacher-educator 
Graham Parr laments the push toward an efficient, centrally 
controlled curriculum in Australia. Many of the issues he raises 
will be familiar to U.S. educators:

http://www.stenhouse.com/rdnational.htm

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3) PD Corner: Observation: assessment that informs
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"Listening while you work: Using informal assessments to inform 
your instruction" shares one teacher's advice on effective 
approaches to observation and active listening. This article is 
part of The First Year, an online collection of essays from LEARN 
NC at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of 
Education:

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/firstyear/2.2

How do you rate as a listener? The International Listening 
Association (http://www.listen.org) defines listening as "the 
process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to 
spoken and/or nonverbal messages." Check your listening skills 
with this four-minute Listening Self-Assessment:

http://www.highgain.com/SELF/index.php

In "Transforming Learning and Teaching through Quality Classroom 
Assessment: What Does the Research Say?" Anne Davies emphasizes 
the importance of observation and student involvement in the 
assessment process. Her article leads off the October 2004 issue 
of NCTE's School Talk newsletter, which also includes "Using 
Assessment to Support a Struggling Learner" and "Involving Parents 
in the Assessment Process":

http://www.highgain.com/SELF/index.php
(1.6 MB PDF file--download time may be long on slow connections.)

Beth Critchley Charlton explores the power of informed assessment 
practices on teachers, instruction, and most of all the literacy 
success of students in her book Informal Assessment Strategies. 
She challenges teachers to explore the why, what, and how of 
assessment, and presents techniques to help busy teachers listen, 
question, and observe students. These observations form the 
foundation for lessons that build on what students know:

http://www.stenhouse.com/8181.asp?r=n102

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4) Engaging the family to build community and literacy
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The current issue of Teaching K-8 magazine features an innovative 
parent-school involvement program at Tower Street Elementary 
School in Westerly, Rhode Island. This initiative not only 
provides a multitude of opportunities for families to get involved 
in the educational community, but also makes every effort to make 
those opportunities accessible:

http://www.stenhouse.com/rdfamily.htm
(Click on the link at the end of the article for a list of over a 
dozen program events and resources.)

The new book Family Literacy Experiences by Jennifer Rowsell 
invites teachers to recognize diverse literacy experiences outside 
the classroom and how they can be brought from home to school to 
drive meaningful reading and writing instruction. Browse the 
entire book online:

http://www.stenhouse.com/8207.asp?r=n102

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5) Season's greetings from Stenhouse
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This is the last issue of Newslinks for 2006. From everyone at 
Stenhouse, we wish you happy and safe holidays and a successful 
2007!


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