Lead Lit Topic: Study Groups
Teacher study groups are as diverse as the teachers who participate in them. They can be an informal, low-key coffee klatch designed to relieve the daily stress of teaching or a highly structured inquiry group with definite participant protocols. Most study groups are somewhere in-between, with colleagues getting together regularly to discuss books, view videos, and support each other as they test out new literacy instruction strategies in their classrooms. Here you’ll find inspiration and ideas from study group leaders who coordinate book groups, design workshops, and develop structures for helping colleagues transfer professional learning to the reality of the classroom and sustain it.
Results
Reactions to the Book Paper Things
Teachers discuss Jennifer Richard Jacobson's book Paper Things in a study group.
Launching Meetings with Video
Nothing brings people together more than shared experiences. Jimmy Fallon There is nothing like that awkward silence that inevitably surfaces at the start of meetings or professional development sessions....
Meeting Snapshot: Checking In
Jason DiCarlo launches the monthly lesson study with the first-grade team by checking in on learning since the last meeting—what was applied from the previous study (especially when it comes...
Meeting Snapshot: Norms
At the start of this meeting before a demonstration lesson, Jason DiCarlo reminds the first-grade teaching team of the norms they have agreed to use throughout their time together: 1....
Honesty with Adult Learners
Over the past few years, I’ve learned that when leading professional development for adults, it’s important to treat them as colleagues and to acknowledge that we are all learners together....
Study Group Gifts
Jennifer Allen explains why she always budgets for small study-group gifts, and shares how they build connections between the groups and teaching practice.
What’s Not on the Study Group Agenda
When we think of designing a study group, environment matters. Environment is that other essential piece that doesn’t make its way onto an agenda. We want teachers to come to...
Toolbox Activities in Study Groups
"Toolbox" activities have subtly worked their way into our study group agendas over the last year. These quick activities are an opportunity for the group to try out some of...
Listening and Storytelling
Every spring I spend a few months working with a group of new teachers. And every spring, the image of a bridge returns to me. This mental picture of a...
Predictable Structures for Study Groups
I use a simple format and structure when planning for study groups. These key elements help me select resources for the meetings. There is often not enough time to do...
The Evolution of Study Groups
Recently I was asked if the Common Core has changed our study groups. Am I running study groups the same way I did when I started 10 years ago? My...
Planning for a Year of Professional Development
As a literacy leader, I set up opportunities for staff to interact and learn together. As I look ahead to the upcoming year and professional development for the district, I...
Guiding Reading Specialists to Lead Professional Development
In this video, Kathy Provost meets with reading specialists to plan professional development for paraprofessionals. She explains the importance of surveying participants.
Talk to the Text Discussion Closure
Amanda Adrian and Heather Sisson lead a literacy coaching group discussion of an article using the "Talk to the Text" protocol. This is an excellent activity for fostering contributions from...
Pause Paraphrase Probe: Developing Coaching Skills
Amanda Adrian and Heather Sisson lead their coaching colleagues in an activity to practice paraphrasing skills in this excerpt from a coaching support group.
The Staircase Reading Response: Planning Session
In this first video in a two-part series, Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan meet with fourth-grade teachers to assess student reading responses and plan a demonstration small group that Clare...
My Ideal Professional Bookshelf: What Does Yours Look Like?
Inspired by our discussions of an important book in our professional lives (see Part 1), our literacy teacher support group decided to take our work a step further and create...
Courage to Change: A Professional Development Activity
We love to use picture books to inspire conversation around change in our leadership meetings. Recently we tried a new book and loved how it worked. We used Courage...
Pushing the Pause Button for Reflection: Literacy Chats
Days at school are busy and filled with nonstop commitment to our students. Rarely are teachers given the opportunity to pause and reflect on learning and teaching. Equally challenging is...
Planning for a Year of Study Groups
Sustainable improvement can never be done to or even for teachers. It can only ever be achieved by and with them. Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan As a literacy...
Taking a Fresh Look at PLCs
These days, the initialism PLC is so common in teaching vernacular that it is almost to the point of being cliche. But what does it really mean? What does a...
