The Power of Literacy: Read, Write, Think, Discuss—Disciplinary Literacy

Fairfax Network - Fairfax County Public Schools

18 Aug 201707:41

Summary

TLDRIn Fairfax County Public Schools, the engagement model fosters student-centered learning through disciplinary literacy. Teachers from various content areas implement this model to enhance student thinking, reading, writing, and discussion skills. The model emphasizes student agency, allowing them to take ownership of their learning process. By facilitating rather than directly instructing, teachers encourage critical thinking and problem-solving, leading to a more engaged and effective learning experience.

Takeaways

📚 The student-centered philosophy is foundational in Fairfax County Public Schools and supports learning through disciplinary literacy.
🧠 Disciplinary literacy involves mastering the language and thinking processes specific to each subject area.
👩‍🏫 Teachers act as guides, helping students read, write, think, and discuss content rather than simply delivering knowledge.
✍️ The engagement model emphasizes student agency, where students actively participate by thinking, discussing, and creating.
🔄 Learning through this model involves students solving problems, critical thinking, and collaborating rather than focusing on getting the 'right answer' immediately.
🎯 Teachers act more as facilitators, allowing students to take ownership of their learning while they monitor student engagement.
🔍 The classroom environment adapts based on formative assessments, adjusting lessons according to students' needs.
📊 The model promotes flexibility, allowing students to work on activities and develop key skills like reading, writing, and critical thinking.
💡 The process of student engagement evolves over time, with teachers adapting and refining the model each year based on student progress.
📝 Even small, daily practices add up over time, contributing to students' overall growth in reading, writing, and problem-solving skills.

Q & A

What is the engagement model in Fairfax County Public Schools?
-The engagement model in Fairfax County Public Schools is a student-centered philosophy that focuses on disciplinary literacy, allowing students to learn by reading, writing, thinking, and discussing content. It emphasizes student agency and ownership of their learning.
How do teachers use disciplinary literacy in the engagement model?
-Teachers use disciplinary literacy by guiding students to navigate the language and thinking processes specific to each subject area. They plan instructions that encourage students to actively engage in reading, writing, thinking, and discussing to build content knowledge.
Why is content literacy important in the engagement model?
-Content literacy is important because it is at the heart of the engagement model, where students actively engage with the material, think critically, and build knowledge through reading, writing, and discussion.
What is meant by 'student agency' in the context of the engagement model?
-'Student agency' refers to giving students control over their learning, allowing them to become deeply invested in their work. It encourages them to be active participants in the learning process rather than passively completing assignments.
How do teachers facilitate learning under the engagement model?
-Teachers act as facilitators rather than delivering knowledge from the front of the room. They guide students in thinking, talking, creating, and collaborating while providing support and structure to enhance student engagement.
What are some strategies teachers use to implement the engagement model?
-Teachers use various strategies, such as warm-ups, reading sessions, and work time organized around larger goals like essays or presentations. They adjust their teaching based on formative assessments to meet individual student needs.
What advice is given to teachers interested in using the engagement model?
-Teachers are advised to try the engagement model even if it may be messy initially. The benefits of increased student ownership, engagement, and learning outweigh any potential disruptions.
How does the engagement model benefit students in different subject areas?
-The engagement model benefits students by encouraging them to think critically, solve problems, and collaborate, regardless of the subject area. It helps them apply learned strategies to new situations, such as math problems or discussions about historical events.
What challenges might teachers face when implementing the engagement model?
-Teachers may face challenges like ensuring all students are on task, managing a variety of student engagement levels, and dealing with minor classroom disruptions. However, these are outweighed by the positive outcomes of the model.
How has the engagement model evolved in classrooms over time?
-The engagement model has evolved as teachers have gained more experience with it, adapting and refining their methods each year to better engage students, encourage critical thinking, and foster collaboration in their classrooms.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Student-Centered Engagement in Learning

This paragraph introduces the core philosophy behind Fairfax County Public Schools' student-centered learning approach, emphasizing the 'engagement model' where students build knowledge through disciplinary literacy. Teachers play a key role in guiding students by planning lessons that focus on reading, writing, thinking, and discussing. This model encourages students to engage deeply in the content, developing not just subject skills but also critical thinking abilities.

05:01

🧠 Fostering Student Ownership and Deep Engagement

The focus of this paragraph is on the importance of student agency and ownership in their learning journey. The speaker reflects on how giving students more time to engage in meaningful tasks rather than simply completing worksheets enhances their development as readers, writers, and critical thinkers. The engagement model is employed to encourage students to think, write, and discuss their learning, allowing them to approach problems more thoughtfully rather than mechanically.

🔍 Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving in Action

This section emphasizes the role of critical thinking and problem-solving in the engagement model. Teachers observe how students tackle challenges and develop their skills, working through solutions even if they make mistakes. This process of collaborative problem-solving builds essential skills that students need for future academic success. The teacher's role shifts to facilitator, encouraging students to find their own answers and think more deeply about the problems they encounter.

👩‍🏫 Active Learning in the Modern Classroom

Here, the speaker describes the transformation of the classroom into an active learning environment where students collaborate, think, and create. Teachers step back from traditional lecture-based methods and instead focus on engaging students with tasks that involve discussion and hands-on activities. Students are no longer passive recipients of knowledge; they are actively involved in constructing their understanding, which leads to more meaningful and lasting learning experiences.

🏫 A Classroom as a 'One-Room Schoolhouse'

This paragraph describes the teacher's approach to managing a diverse group of students, comparing the classroom to a 'one-room schoolhouse' where students at different levels work together. The teacher starts with warm-up activities to stimulate thinking and conversation, followed by structured reading time and work periods focused on larger goals like essays or presentations. Mini-lessons are tailored based on students' progress, with formative assessments helping to guide the instruction.

🔄 Continuous Improvement through Engagement

The speaker reflects on their seven-year journey with the engagement model, noting how it has evolved and improved over time. The approach has fostered greater student engagement, particularly in areas like writing and problem-solving, even in math classes. The speaker encourages other teachers to embrace the model, noting that while it may seem messy or imperfect at times, the incremental benefits of student-led learning accumulate into meaningful growth in reading, writing, and critical thinking skills.

✏️ Reading, Writing, and Critical Thinking Across Subjects

This section highlights the teacher's belief that their role is primarily to foster reading, writing, and critical thinking, with content serving as the foundation for developing these skills. The speaker emphasizes that this is a different classroom model than what teachers themselves grew up with. Students are not only learning the material but also building essential skills for future success in the modern world.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Student-Centered Philosophy

A student-centered philosophy is an educational approach that prioritizes the needs, interests, and experiences of students. In the context of the video, this philosophy is foundational to the engagement model, which aims to support student learning by making them active participants in their education. The script mentions that this approach allows students to take ownership of their learning, which is crucial for developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

💡Engagement Model

The engagement model is a structure that supports student learning through active participation and involvement in the learning process. As described in the script, this model is designed to make students do the thinking, reading, writing, and discussing, which are essential for building content knowledge. It is contrasted with traditional teaching methods where the teacher is the primary source of information, and students are passive recipients.

💡Disciplinary Literacy

Disciplinary literacy refers to the complex set of skills required to navigate the language and thinking processes of each subject area. Teachers in the video are depicted as experts in these skills, constructing and guiding students through disciplinary literacy by planning instructions for various academic activities. This concept is central to the engagement model, as it helps students to read, write, think, and discuss content effectively.

💡Content Knowledge

Content knowledge is the understanding and mastery of the subject matter in a particular discipline. The script emphasizes that the engagement model is designed to help students build content knowledge by doing the work, which involves thinking, discussing, and creating rather than just completing worksheets or assignments. This is illustrated by the teachers' efforts to facilitate student engagement with the material, leading to a deeper understanding of the subject.

💡Student Agency

Student agency is the ability of students to take control of their own learning. The video script discusses how the engagement model promotes student agency by giving students the opportunity to be invested in their work and to own their learning process. This is exemplified by the teachers' focus on student involvement and the shift from teacher-led instruction to student-driven exploration and discovery.

💡Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and evaluate information objectively. In the script, critical thinking is highlighted as a key outcome of the engagement model, where students are encouraged to think deeply about problems and find solutions, even if they are not immediately correct. This is contrasted with the traditional approach of simply providing the right answer, emphasizing the importance of the process over the outcome.

💡Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is the process of finding solutions to complex or difficult issues. The video script mentions that the engagement model helps students develop problem-solving skills by encouraging them to think about and discuss mathematical problems, rather than just performing repetitive calculations. This approach is intended to foster a deeper understanding and the ability to apply knowledge to new situations.

💡Formative Assessment

Formative assessment is a continuous process of assessing students' learning to provide feedback and adjust teaching strategies. In the script, teachers use formative assessment to guide their instruction based on students' progress and needs. This is evident when teachers pull students into groups to hone skills and provide targeted support, adapting their teaching to meet the individual needs of the students.

💡Workshop Model

The workshop model is an instructional approach where students engage in collaborative learning activities, often in small groups. The script describes how teachers use the workshop model to structure learning around larger goals, such as essays or presentations, and to provide mini-lessons and activities that support student progress. This model is part of the engagement model, emphasizing student collaboration and active participation.

💡Student Ownership

Student ownership refers to students having a sense of responsibility and control over their learning. The video script discusses how the engagement model aims to give students choice and ownership in their learning, which is believed to enhance their motivation and engagement. Teachers in the video encourage students to take charge of their work, leading to a more meaningful and effective learning experience.

💡Messy Learning

Messy learning is a term used to describe the process of learning that is not always neat, orderly, or straightforward. The script acknowledges that adopting the engagement model might lead to 'messy' learning experiences, but it argues that the benefits of fostering student engagement and critical thinking outweigh any potential challenges. This concept is used to emphasize the importance of allowing students to explore, make mistakes, and learn from their experiences.

Highlights

Student-centered philosophy is the foundation for the engagement model in Fairfax County Public Schools.

The engagement model supports student learning through disciplinary literacy, focusing on content reading, writing, thinking, and discussion.

Disciplinary literacy is a complex skill set, involving language and thinking processes in each subject area.

Teachers guide students by constructing instructions that emphasize active learning, rather than passive absorption of content.

The engagement model encourages student agency and ownership of their learning, rather than just completing assignments.

Math teachers using the engagement model focus on getting students to think critically, talk about math, and write about their thinking processes.

The engagement model helps students focus on problem-solving and critical thinking, rather than repetitive tasks.

Collaborative activities and peer discussion are key elements of the engagement model.

Students learn by engaging in real thinking and collaborating, with the teacher acting as a facilitator.

The engagement model can work with different student levels in a classroom, allowing for differentiated instruction and workshops.

Formative assessments are used to guide instruction and create small group activities to hone students’ skills.

Giving students ownership of their learning leads to higher engagement and meaningful learning outcomes, even if the classroom environment becomes a bit messy.

The model has evolved over seven years and has grown as a flexible and adaptable approach to student engagement.

Students are using strategies learned through the engagement model to solve new, unfamiliar problems.

The focus is on building essential skills for the future, such as critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving.