Today's NAEP update was a powerful reminder that the status quo of how we've been teaching reading for the past decade or more, is not working. As a nation, we need and must do better to reach struggling readers.
I was reminded of an experience I had working with a school principal a couple of weeks ago. I'm new to working with her, coaching a few teachers at her school.
On my first day leading coaching meetings, she had me work out of her office while she worked in the back. "I won't interject," she said, "I just want to learn more about your approach and leadership." That was more than fine with me - as an outsider to this community, I appreciated the opportunity to contribute at her school, that she was sharing her space, and also that she wanted to observe me during my first meetings.
As it turned out, she did interject. The meeting I had with the fifth grade teachers was a little tougher than others. I gave feedback to the teachers that the texts they had provided to students were below grade level and also, frankly, uninteresting. Given their stated goal was to effectively launch a new writing unit, they missed the opportunity to hook students in productive struggle while also sparking debate from interesting content, and as a result students were not engaged. One of the teachers reacted defensively. She said there were students in the class who couldn't read. It was obvious she cared deeply about them, but was leaning into her fear of what they couldn't yet do, rather than what she could do to support them.
Here's where the principal turned her chair around and jumped in. "What I think we need to discuss here, " she said, "is what you as teachers can do for the students who are struggling. Can we focus on solutions and strategies?"
This is exactly where I wanted the conversation to go. Her jumping in helped us to get there quicker. It also energized me to hear that we were aligned in our feedback for the teachers. I was able to use the rest of the meeting to help them plan for strategies, scaffolds, and co-teaching structures that would help all students with increased access to rigorous texts.
Students who struggle with reading, especially in the upper grades, don't need watered-down lesson content that they might be more successful with in the short term. They need teachers who are relentless in giving them the tools to get better every day. The research shows that student engagement is highest when students approach learning in their zone of proximal development - just the right level of challenge coupled with teacher support .
It can be scary to take on the ownership of helping all students access rigorous content. But our students deserve our belief that they can do it, and our commitment that we'll get them there.
When the coaching meetings ended, the principal apologized to me for jumping in. "I told you I wouldn't interject, I'm sorry!" she said. We both laughed, but I told her not to apologize. "I was glad you jumped in. I agreed with your feedback, and they needed to hear it." She told me that she appreciated my leadership overall, and wrote down a few of the questions she heard me asking. One of them was, "What would it look like if all students were meaningfully engaged in the reading and discussion?" She said she thought that was a powerful opener that helped them reconsider how they were planning.
She also had a printed article ready for me. She knew I was a doctoral student and was excited about my study. "I thought you might appreciate reading this," she said. It was a reference to Hattie's meta-analysis of the top influences of student learning outcomes. Among the top five: collective teacher efficacy (teachers belief that they can influence outcomes), teacher estimates of student achievement (teachers belief in what students can do) and cognitive task analysis (continous exposure to rigor).
I left the school that day reminded of a few important things.
Teaching is so hard. It's been several years since I've been in a classroom role myself, and I need to come into my coaching meetings acknowledging and appreciating the incredible hard work that teachers are doing every day.
We need more leaders like her. Work in my office, let me listen in, let me jump and support. Here's my feedback. Here's what I learned from you. Here's an article I thought you might like... All of this from a principal I had been collaborating with for a week. She gave me so much while also making me feel welcome and affirmed in my practice. This is leadership that makes people want to work with you and also learn from you.
Students (especially in the upper grades) need to be engaged to learn. We have a lot more work to do to provide learning experiences that are joyful, interesting, and rigorous.
I've been teaching and leading literacy work in schools for more than two decades. I've led classrooms and schools full of readers in struggle, and helped them make meaningful gains throughout each school year. I've also been engaged in doctoral research for the last three years studying what older students in the secondary grades need to achieve academically. If I can support your school or organization, please reach out to me at amy@educationreinspired.org.
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