Marshall Memo 748

A Weekly Round-up of Important Ideas and Research in K-12 Education

August 12, 2018

 

 

 

In This Issue:

1. Jon Saphier on what teachers look for in school leaders

2. A theory on why girls are underachieving in STEM subjects

3. Pushback on grit and growth mindset programs

4. Jennifer Gonzalez on choosing technology wisely

5. Questions about technology-driven personalization in classrooms

6. Passing notes as a middle-school ELA strategy

7. Reflections on coaching teachers and school leaders

8. YouTube channels with strong educational content

9. Recommended books of children’s poetry

 

Quotes of the Week

“Most teachers acknowledge that when they hold class discussions, four or five students typically participate, and always the same four or five students.”            

Lesley Roessing (see item #6)

 

“In classrooms where the primary mode of personalization is a hyper-individualized, technology-driven curriculum, we find our children siphoned off into silos, taking away valuable points of convergence. When we take away points of convergence, we take away opportunities for our children to learn from, through, and with each other.”

            Paul Emerich France (see item #5)

 

“Technology amplifies whatever is happening. If we’re widening the gap, it can be amplified by technology, and it happens faster, and it happens sometimes under the radar, because teachers and students might not be having every interaction in person anymore.”

            Rupa Chandra Gupta (quoted in item #4)

 

“The word ‘rote’ has a bad rap in modern-day learning. But the reality is that rote practice, by which I mean routine practice that keeps the focus on what comes harder for you, plays an important role. The foundational patterns must be ingrained before you can be creative.”

            Barbara Oakley (see item #2)

 

“I trust that you will make it safefor us to make mistakes by making yourself vulnerable; acknowledging what you don’t know and where you need help; righting wrongs, apologizing, and making restitution; acknowledging mistakes; showing loyalty by giving credit freely, acknowledging others, and not bad-mouthing anyone behind their backs; holding yourself accountable and sharing how you’ll communicate what you’re doing; and being a constant, visible learner with us.”

            Jon Saphier on what teachers look for in school leaders (see item #1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Jon Saphier on What Teachers Look for in School Leaders

            Trust is one of the key factors in educators’ collective efficacy, says author/consultant Jon Saphier, and collective efficacy is essential to high student achievement. In this compilation of ideas from his own research and that of Tony Bryk and Stephen Covey, Saphier deconstructs what trust in a school leader looks like from the teacher’s point of view. 

            • “I trust that you are competentand can keep the wheels turning by staying on top of essential operations and handling crises.

            • I trust that you think I am a worthwhile personbecause you consistently notice and comment on the things I am doing well and are interested in my life outside of school.

            • I trust that you will make it safefor us to make mistakes by making yourself vulnerable; acknowledging what you don’t know and where you need help; righting wrongs, apologizing, and making restitution; acknowledging mistakes; showing loyalty by giving credit freely, acknowledging others, and not bad-mouthing anyone behind their backs; holding yourself accountable and sharing how you’ll communicate what you’re doing; and being a constant, visible learner with us.

            • I trust that you’ll be honest, meaning that you give me honest feedback about my performance; talk straight, let people know where you stand, use simple language, call things as they are, and not leave false impressions; create transparency, erring on the side of disclosure; confront reality, take issues head on, even ‘undiscussables,’ and lead courageously in conversations; and clarify expectations, discuss, validate, not assume things are clear, and renegotiate if necessary.

            • I trust your integrity, that is, that your motivesare for the interests of the children, not your own career advancement because you stand up for important values; keep your moral compass; maintain urgency for what needs to be done; and keep your promises, following through on your commitments.

            • I trust that you will act courageouslyby protecting us from initiative overload and keeping us safe from toxic behavior.

            • I trust that you make legitimate decisionsbecause you solicit input; explain how our input was used and why; can set limits and say ‘no’; and make decisions for the good of the school.

            • I trust that you will deliver resultsby highlighting small victories and getting the right things done.

            • I trust you will show me respectby listening first and not assuming you know what 

matters most to others; doing active listening; hearing out different points of view; valuing my time; having my back; sharing difficult information because you think I can get better and deserve the chance.

            • I trust that you will act in a caring and compassionateway by showing kindness in little things; being generous; and going the extra mile to show consideration to individuals beyond formal requirements.”

 

“The ‘Black Box’ of Collective Efficacy” by Jon Saphier, February 17, 2018 at Research for Better Teaching http://rbteach.com/products-resources/downloads/all; Saphier can be reached at [email protected].

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2. A Theory on Why Girls Are Underachieving in STEM Subjects

            In this New York Timesarticle, engineering professor Barbara Oakley (Oakland University, Michigan) says that to launch girls toward STEM success, lots of work in mathematics is the sine qua non. “Math is the language of science, technology, and engineering,” says Oakley. “And like any language, it is best acquired through lengthy, in-depth practice.” 

            The problem, she believes, is that many girls aren’t putting in the necessary hours of math practice. Why? Researchers have found that elementary-age girls are, on average, just as good at math as boys, but they’re stronger at reading and writing. Here’s the result: “A typical little boy can think he’s better at math than language arts,” says Oakley. “But a typical little girl can think she’s better at language arts than math. As a result, when she sits down to do math, she might be more likely to say, ‘I’m not that good at this!’ She actually isjust as good (on average) as a boy at the math – it’s just that she’s even better at language arts… Unfortunately, thinking you’re not very good at something can be a quick path to disliking and avoiding it, even if you do have natural ability. You can begin to avoid practicing it, because to your mind, that practice is more painful than learning that comes more easily. Not practicing, in turn, transforms what started out as a mere aversion into a genuine lack of competence.” 

            Oakley likens elementary mathematics to learning to play the guitar. To become skilled on a musical instrument, there’s no substitute for repeated practice of basic patterns until they are automatic. “The word ‘rote’ has a bad rap in modern-day learning,” she says. “But the reality is that rote practice, by which I mean routine practice that keeps the focus on what comes harder for you, plays an important role. The foundational patterns must be ingrained before you can be creative… All learning isn’t – and shouldn’t be – ‘fun’.” The same is true of mathematics, she says, except “the instrument you play is your own internal neural apparatus.” 

            Here’s where the current U.S. emphasis on getting students to understandmath, making it fun, and deemphasizing drill and practice may be producing unintended consequences for girls. “All American students could benefit from more drilling,” says Oakley, citing the lowly status of the U.S. in international rankings. “But girls especially could benefit from some extra required practice, which would not only break the cycle of dislike-avoidance-further-dislike but also build confidence and that sense of, ‘Yes, I can do this.’ Practice with math can help close the gap between girls’ reading and math skills, making math seem like an equally good long-term study option.” Of course understanding and fun are important with math, but Oakley believes there needs to be much more foundational drill and practice – which will disproportionately benefit girls. 

 

“Make Your Daughter Practice Math” by Barbara Oakley in The New York Times, August 8, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/opinion/stem-girls-math-practice.html; Oakley can be reached at [email protected].

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3. Pushback on Grit and Growth Mindset Programs

            In this article in AMLE Magazine, teacher/consultant/author Rick Wormeli argues that the well-intentioned push to develop students’ grit and growth mindset “can perpetuate harmful stereotypes, racism, and classism.” How so? Wormeli cites several critics who contend that it’s wrong to push schools to “fix” failing students from disadvantaged backgrounds (Adopt a growth mindset! Work harder!) when the focus should be on fixing racism and the economic and psychological conditions that contribute so powerfully to those disadvantages. 

Paul Gorski is one of these critics, citing the school conditions with which many less-fortunate students have to contend: fewer qualified teachers; more substitutes; less-rigorous and less-student-centered curriculum; not as much access to school nurses and college counselors; more-limited access to computers and the Internet; inadequate science labs and other facilities. “So,” says Gorski, “explain to me how we can meaningfully respond to the impact of these conditions by completely ignoring these injustices while ‘fixing’ the mindsets, cultures, or grittiness of students or families experiencing poverty.” 

Young people from challenging backgrounds “don’t lack grit and tenacity,” says Wormeli. “They have plenty of it; that’s how they survive. We lose all credibility by harping on it as the root of a student’s problems. What these students lack are the resources, time, and support needed to maneuver, extend energy, and find hope in the instructional demands placed on them.” 

Wormeli is not saying schools should abandon efforts to help students develop initiative, self-discipline, tenacity, voice, authenticity, self-efficacy, and responsibility for the choices they make. “Heck,” he says, “this description alone is probably 90% of a middle-school teacher’s daily job description.” Rather, he’s saying that educators must be sensitive to the circumstances from which students arrive in school every day and work in ways that take those conditions into account – without lowering expectations. Some suggestions:

• Get to know students really well through home visits, attending community events, and tuning in news sources that tell it like it is. “Let’s not make it the student’s responsibility to teach us,” says Wormeli.

• Accept and honor students for who they are, not judging them against successful students from the majority culture.

• Adopt classroom policies that give students second chances and reason to believe that success is within reach – for example, retaking tests for full credit; judging performance on ultimate proficiency (versus averaging grades over time); providing a chance for redemption after cheating or plagiarism; and avoiding sarcasm and grudges. 

• Conduct “an equity, class, and racial audit of our attitudes toward students from cultures different from our own,” recommends Wormeli, and take a critical look at classroom materials, videos, and technology platforms. Students should see people of different colors, religions, cultures, sexual orientations, and economic status portrayed as thoughtful, competent individuals.

• Work to identify and dismantle inequities that disadvantage some students. Specifically, all students should have the materials, technology, and Internet access, in and out of school, that they need to be successful.

• Address inattention in class on a student-by-student basis, without reference to cultural or economic stereotypes.

• Provide middle-school students with explicit skill instruction in executive function – personal efficacy, self-discipline, timeliness, task analysis, and impulsivity/distractibility control – because it’s what allyoung adolescents need. “It’s the nature of the age, not the class or race, to need these learning experiences at exactly this age,” says Wormeli.

• Provide training for all teachers in cognitive coaching and descriptive feedback, emphasizing “reflection on decisions, their impact, setting goals, not invoking ego through judgment, active engagement in learning, self-monitoring, being flexible, taking responsibility, and revision from a new perspective.”

 

“Grit and Growth Mindset: Deficit Thinking?” by Rick Wormeli in AMLE Magazine, August 2018 (Vol. 6, #3, p. 35-38); www.amle.org/am/wormeli1; Wormeli can be reached at [email protected].

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4. Jennifer Gonzalez on Choosing Technology Wisely

            In this Cult of Pedagogyarticle, Jennifer Gonzalez focuses on how schools can make good decisions on classroom technology purchases. She was advised by Rupa Chandra Gupta, a former school administrator who now runs a technology company (Sown to Grow) and has strong views about ways that tech can be unhelpful in schools. 

Working in a middle school, Gupta and her colleagues noticed that a learning platform that was producing better average test scores was actually having a perverse impact: students who entered sixth grade at or above grade level were making significant gains, but students who entered below grade level weren’t. “Not just moving forward at a slower pace or even staying flat,” says Gupta; “they were falling further behind.” Despite having invested considerable money and time in the program, the school dumped it. From this experience, Gupta reached a sobering conclusion: “Technology amplifies whatever is happening. If we’re widening the gap, it can be amplified by technology, and it happens faster, and it happens sometimes under the radar, because teachers and students might not be having every interaction in person anymore.”

Here are Gupta’s suggestions for a deliberate, systematic approach to vetting a possible classroom technology product:

• Use it like a student. Log in, imagine you are one of your lowest-performing and then one of your highest-performing students, and get the feel of the product. How does it respond when you make a mistake? Are there challenges for high fliers? Are there solutions to problems?

• Run a pilot. Recruit a small, diverse group of students to try out the product and see how easily they can navigate, whether it’s accessible to all levels of achievement and language proficiency, and whether students enjoy and learn from it. 

• Disaggregate the data. What are the results for different student subgroups? Gupta gives the example of a digital portfolio app that allowed students to take pictures of their work and send them to their parents. This looked good at first, but wait a minute: what about parents who didn’t have smartphones and computers at home? “If there is a subset of folks who aren’t able to engage or access,” says Gupta, “it’s probably folks who we want to make sure we’re not leaving behind, right?”

• Ask how and why a product improves student learning. “How is this tool fundamentally changing something about teaching and learning?” asks Gupta. “What is it about this that’s innovative or different?... Is this tool truly changing learning experiences, or is it just a worksheet in an online format?”

• Ask critical questions about impact. Push beyond the aggregate information on a tech company’s website and ask about results for different student populations. 

• Trust your gut. Experienced educators have a good sense of what will work for their students, once they’ve actually tried out a product, watched a pilot group of students try it out, and listened to the company’s answers to probing questions.

 

“Quality-Check Your Tech: 6 Strategies” by Jennifer Gonzalez in Cult of Pedagogy, July 15, 2018, https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/quality-check-your-tech/

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5. Questions About Technology-Driven Personalization in Classrooms

            In this EdSurge Newsarticle, Chicago teacher Paul Emerich France expresses concern about classrooms that are attempting to individualize and personalize instruction with technology. “What we fail to realize,” he says, “is that individualization actually has diminishing returns. As individualization increases, so does the potential for isolation. In classrooms where the primary mode of personalization is a hyper-individualized, technology-driven curriculum, we find our children siphoned off into silos, taking away valuable points of convergence. When we take away points of convergence, we take away opportunities for our children to learn from, through, and with each other. We rob them of opportunities for social-emotional learning through serendipitous and spontaneous interactions. We limit the amount of time children can learn through meaningful dialogue and discourse. In essence, we take away the very things that make the human condition of learningutterlypersonal in the first place.”

            Why do educators go down the technology-driven personalization/individualization rabbit hole? First, says France, because it makes it easier to manage classrooms. Second, because, as one of his third graders blurted out, “parents don’t have to help us with our homework.” And third, because tech companies’ sales pitches have convinced educators that their products produce better test scores. That may be true in the short run, but France is concerned about the long-term consequences of high-tech classrooms. John Hattie’s research shows that what produces truly meaningful results in schools is teachers’ collective sense of efficacy, constant feedback to students, and other low-tech factors. Individualization and web-based learning do quite poorly in Hattie’s meta-analysis – 0.23 and 0.18 effect sizes, respectively. 

            “In order for learning to be personal, it must be meaningful and transferable,” concludes France. “And meaningful, transferable learning only comes when human connection is at the center of what we do.” He suggests four guiding questions for tech in the classroom:

-  Does the technology help to minimize complexity?

-  Does the technology help to maximize the individual power and potential of all learners in the room?

-  Will the technology help us to do something previously unimaginable?

-  Will the technology preserve or enhance human connection in the classroom?

If the answer to all four questions is yes, you’ve chosen effective technology, says France. If not, keep looking or go low-tech.

 

“Why Are We Still Personalizing Learning If It’s Not Personal?” by Paul Emerich France in EdSurge News, July 2, 2018,https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-07-02-why-are-we-still-personalizing-learning-if-it-s-not-personal; France’s website is https://paulemerich.com.

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6. Passing Notes As a Middle-School ELA Strategy

            “Most teachers acknowledge that when they hold class discussions, four or five students typically participate, and always the same four or five students,” says former middle-school teacher Lesley Roessing (Georgia Southern University and Coastal Savannah Writing Project) in this article in AMLE Magazine. If students are discussing a text in pairs or small groups, there’s a different challenge: keeping them on task, avoiding inappropriate topics, and controlling the noise level. Here is Roessing’s strategy for getting all students involved in discussing an ELA text (a poem, short story, novel chapter, play, or informational text):

-  Students are divided into groups of three and told that the first five steps of this process will be conducted with no talking.

-  All students silently read the text.

-  On their own piece of paper, students spend two minutes writing a response to the text – something that seemed meaningful, significant, or interesting – and sign their name.

-  A timekeeper gives a signal and, within each triad, students pass their responses to the right, read the paper they received, spend two minutes writing a response that keeps a conversation going, and sign their name.

-  When time is up, students again pass their papers to the right, read the new paper they received, and spend two minutes writing a response and sign their name.

-  When the signal is given, students pass papers again. Students now have their original papers back and read the responses from their two group-mates. 

-  Groups talk about insights and points made in their comments. 

-  Each group shares with the whole class the different topics of their conversations and one point about the text that they all believe is important.

An important preliminary to notepassing lessons, says Roessing, is teaching students opening lines that initiate discussion (for example, When the article said ----, it made me think of ----) and encouraging students to cite facts, quotes, or ideas from the text. It’s also helpful to give students structures for creating a discussion in response to classmates’ writing – for example, I agree and also thought that ---, I think that’s true; however, I was also thinking ---, That is a good thought, but did you consider ---

            Asked for their reactions to this activity, students told Roessing they liked several aspects: everyone gets a turn; students can jot thoughts before they forget; there’s time to reflect before “blurting out” answers (as some students would do in a regular discussion); they can look back at what someone else said; and they can revise before passing their papers on. 

Teachers also had positive reactions: all students take part; turn-taking is built in; the room is quiet even when as many as ten groups are actively reacting to a text; the two-minute limit gets everyone going; students tend to write for the whole two minutes even when they finish early (they look around and see that everyone else is still writing); very few students write inappropriate comments; there’s no eye-rolling and other negative nonverbal affect; and students are writing for a peer audience rather than for the teacher. 

            Roessing says there’s no reason to limit this activity to English language arts classes. Other possibilities:

-  Social studies textbook chapters, articles, or visuals;

-  Science articles, textbook chapters, artifacts, or experiments;

-  Math problems or concepts;

-  Music scores, lyrics, or reactions to a piece of music;

-  Health charts, visuals, articles, or textbook chapters;

-  Works of art.

 

“During-Reading Response: Notepassing Discussion” by Lesley Roessing in AMLE Magazine, August 2018 (Vol. 6, #3, p. 44-47), https://bit.ly/2MGgxGn; Roessing can be reached at 

[email protected]

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7. Reflections on Coaching Teachers and School Leaders

            In this article in Education Week Teacher, Elena Aguilar (Bright Morning Consulting) shares four big lessons from working with educators during the past school year:

            •Talk as little as possible. “I only need a couple of good questions,” says Aguilar, noting her tendency to ask as many as 15 during a coaching session. One of her resolutions going forward is trying to find the very best question – the one to which the educator will say, “That’s a really good question” and dive into the most important issues.

            •Lean into vulnerability. One of Aguilar’s long-time clients shared something that was “big and deep” for him – it revealed sadness and fear – and she felt herself getting uncomfortable and leaning back in her chair, realizing that for her there’s something about a man showing emotion that’s particularly unsettling. But Aguilar took a deep breath, leaned forward, and said, “Tell me more about what’s coming up for you.” He did, and it was okay.

            •Don’t try to fix things. Giving people answers to their concerns and problems is a common reflex, says Aguilar, but it underestimates what they’re capable of and strips them of autonomy. Better to guide them as they think through their own solutions. 

            •Coach the person, not the problem. There’s a strong tendency for coaches to respond to the problems teachers and school leaders present with answers, solutions, and resources, says Aguilar – and there are times when that’s the right thing to do. But she keeps telling herself to tune in to the person in front of her and facilitate their exploration of the problem so they can come to their own conclusion about what to do. “This results in a far more empowered teacher/leader/person than if we were to direct them to get there,” says Aguilar, “and our world needs more empowered people!”

 

“Big Lessons from a Year of Coaching: Stop Talking and Be Fearless” by Elena Aguilar in Education Week Teacher, June 14, 2018, https://bit.ly/2MiBGtf; Aguilar can be reached at

[email protected]

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8. YouTube Channels with Strong Educational Content

            “I’ve long had a complicated relationship with screen time with my young sons,” says Michael Petrilli in this Education Gadflyarticle, “but have come to see its benefits, especially if the focus is on quality over quantity.” Petrilli worked with colleagues at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute to compile a list of YouTube channels that he believes provide high-quality content for young people:

History and geography:

            •Crash Coursehttps://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse– Created by Hank and John Green (the Vlogbrothers), this channel has 48 U.S. history videos, 72 in world history, and 50 on U.S. government and politics. Each video is 10-15 minutes long with a spoken narrative about the topic, with humor and animations.

            •Extra Credits Extra History

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhyKYa0YJ_5Aq7g4bil7bnGi0A8gTsawu– This channel has over 200 videos across a wide range of world history, accompanied by cute animations. The emphasis is on military conflicts. 

            •The Great Warhttps://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar– More than 200 ten-minute videos take an in-depth look at World War I from every angle, one week at a time. There’s video footage, maps, and informed narration. 

            •Geography Now

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmmPgObSUPw1HL2lq6H4ffA– Paul Barbado is working his way through the world’s countries in alphabetical order (he’s up to the M’s), each one with a 15-20-minute video that’s like an encyclopedia entry with humor and silly graphics.

Science and nature:

            •Vsaucehttps://www.youtube.com/user/Vsauce– Michael Stevens draws on his comedy and video editing background to present engaging “journeys” that start with big questions like How much does a shadow weigh? andWhat color is a mirror?

            •The Brain Scoophttps://www.youtube.com/user/thebrainscoop– Emily Graslie is the Chicago Field Museum’s “chief curiosity correspondent” and presents videos on the living world in the Ms. Frizzle mode. 

Literature:

            •Crash Course Literature

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSYw502dJNY&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOeEc9ME62zTfqc0h6Pe8vb– Created by Hank and John Green, this library has 45 videos on literature includingRomeo and JulietCatcher in the Rye, and The Handmaid’s Tale

Mathematics:

            •Khan Academyhttps://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy– Salman Khan’s site started with math but is now a gateway to quick explanations and refreshers on a wide variety of topics.

            •Viharthttps://www.youtube.com/user/Vihart/videos– Victoria Hart, who describes herself as a “full-time recreational mathemusican,” is on a mission to make math cool. Videos include “How I feel about logarithms” and “Doodling in Math Class: DRAGONS.” 

            If you know of other educationally excellent YouTube channels, Petrilli would like to hear from you. 

 

“The Best Educational YouTube Channels for Kids” by Michael Petrilli in The Education Gadfly, August 8, 2018 (Vol. 18, #31), https://edexcellence.net/articles/the-best-educational-youtube-channels-for-kids; Petrilli can be reached at [email protected].

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9. Recommended Books of Children’s Poetry

            In this article in Language Arts, Grace Enriquez and Mary Ann Cappiello (Lesley University), Katie Egan Cunningham (Manhattanville College), and Mollie Welsh Kruger (Bank Street College of Education) recommend these 2017 poetry books for children:

            • Keep a Pocket in Your Poem: Classic Poems and Playful Parodieswritten and selected by Patrick Lewis (WordSong)

            • Roundby Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

            • Fresh-Picked Poetry: A Day at the Farmer’s Marketby Michelle Schaub, illustrated by Amy Huntington (Charlesbridge)

            • Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poetsby Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth, illustrated by Ekua Holmes (Candlewick)

            • A Song About Myself: A Poem by John Keatsillustrated by Chris Raschka (Candlewick)

            • Wake Up!by Helen Frost, photographs by Rick Lieder (Candlewick)

            • Feel the Beat: Dance Poems That Zing from Salsa to Swingby Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Kristi Valiant (Dial)

            • Cricket in the Thicket: Poems About Bugsby Carol Murray, illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Henry Holt)

            • That Is My Dream! A Picture Book of Langston Hughes’s ‘Dream Variation’illustrated by Daniel Miyares (Schwartz & Wade)

            • Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanicsby Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael López (Henry Holt)

            • Thunder Undergroundby Jane Yolen, illustrated by Josée Masse (WordSong)

            • Family Poems for Every Day of the Week/Poemas Familiares Para Cada Dia de la Semana by Francisco Alarcón, illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez (Children’s Book)

            • One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissanceby Nikki Grimes, illustrated by various artists (Bloomsbury)

 

“2017 Notable Poetry Books for Children” by Grace Enriquez, Katie Egan Cunningham, Mary Ann Cappiello, and Mollie Welsh Kruger in Language Arts, July 2018 (Vol. 95, #6, p. 394-401), http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/LA/0956-jul2018/LA0956Jul18Childrens.pdf; Enriquez can be reached at [email protected].

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About the Marshall Memo

 

 

Mission and focus:

This weekly memo is designed to keep principals, teachers, superintendents, and other educators very well-informed on current research and effective practices in K-12 education. Kim Marshall, drawing on 48 years’ experience as a teacher, principal, central office administrator, writer, and consultant lightens the load of busy educators by serving as their “designated reader.”

 

To produce the Marshall Memo, Kim subscribes to 60 carefully-chosen publications (see list to the right), sifts through more than a hundred articles each week, and selects 5-10 that have the greatest potential to improve teaching, leadership, and learning. He then writes a brief summary of each article, pulls out several striking quotes, provides e-links to full articles when available, and e-mails the Memo to subscribers every Monday evening (with occasional breaks; there are 50 issues a year). Every week there’s a podcast and HTML version as well.

 

Subscriptions:

Individual subscriptions are $50 for a year. Rates decline steeply for multiple readers within the same organization. See the website for these rates and how to pay by check, credit card, or purchase order. 

 

Website:

If you go to http://www.marshallmemo.comyou will find detailed information on:

• How to subscribe or renew

• A detailed rationale for the Marshall Memo

• Publications (with a count of articles from each)

• Article selection criteria

• Topics (with a running count of articles)

• Headlines for all issues 

• Reader opinions

• About Kim Marshall (bio, writings, consulting)

• A free sample issue

 

Subscribers have access to the Members’ Area of the website, which has:

• The current issue (in Word and PDF)

• All back issues (Word and PDF) and podcasts

• An easily searchable archive of all articles so far

• The “classic” articles from all 14+ years

Core list of publications covered

Those read this week are underlined.

All Things PLC

American Educational Research Journal

American Educator

American Journal of Education

American School Board Journal

AMLE Magazine

ASCA School Counselor

District Management Journal

Ed. Magazine

Education Digest

Education Next

Education Update

Education Week

Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis

Educational Horizons

Educational Leadership

Educational Researcher
Edutopia

Elementary School Journal

English Journal

Essential Teacher

Exceptional Children

Go Teach

Harvard Business Review

Harvard Educational Review

Independent School

Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy

Journal of Education for Students Placed At Risk (JESPAR)

Kappa Delta Pi Record

Knowledge Quest

Language Arts

Literacy Today (formerly Reading Today)

Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School

Middle School Journal

Peabody Journal of Education

Phi Delta Kappan

Principal

Principal Leadership

Reading Research Quarterly

Responsive Classroom Newsletter

Rethinking Schools

Review of Educational Research

School Administrator

School Library Journal

Social Education

Social Studies and the Young Learner

Teachers College Record

Teaching Children Mathematics

Teaching Exceptional Children

The Atlantic

The Chronicle of Higher Education

The Education Gadfly

The Journal of the Learning Sciences

The Language Educator

The Learning Professional (formerly Journal of Staff Development)

The New York Times

The New Yorker

The Reading Teacher

Theory Into Practice

Time Magazine