{"id":17382,"date":"2019-03-15T06:25:13","date_gmt":"2019-03-15T10:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/?p=17382"},"modified":"2024-08-31T11:37:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-31T15:37:00","slug":"terra-lynch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/terra-lynch\/","title":{"rendered":"#vted Reads: Protocols in the Classroom, with Terra Lynch"},"content":{"rendered":"<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-17382-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/protocols_in_the_classroom_terra_lynch.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/protocols_in_the_classroom_terra_lynch.mp3\">https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/protocols_in_the_classroom_terra_lynch.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>Welcome back to #vted Reads! Now, I recorded this episode back in September out in San Antonio, at the School Reform Initiative&#8217;s Fall 2018 meeting. Author Terra Lynch was kind enough to chat with me about her book for the podcast between sessions. Recording spaces were kind of hard to come by at the conference, so we did our best to find a place without ceilings that were too high, or too echoey, or filled with other participants. We did our best, and hope you enjoy this powerful conversation about protocols, and how you can use them with students in creating democratic classroom situations. Sidenote: Emily Hoyler has written <a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/guiding-discussions-with-protocols-more-effective-meetings-collaboration-part-ii\/\">an amazing introduction to protocols<\/a>, if you&#8217;d like a refresher.<\/p>\n<p>Now, on with the show.<\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m Jeanie Phillips and welcome to #vted Reads! We\u2019re here to talk books for educators, by educators,\u00a0and with educators. <\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, I\u2019m in San Antonio for the <a href=\"https:\/\/schoolreforminitiative.org\/\">School Reform Initiative&#8217;s<\/a> Fall Meeting. This annual conference is focused on creating brave spaces to\u00a0surface inequity and examine our biases and assumptions so that we can ensure our teaching practices help all students learn.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m here with Terra Lynch. We\u2019ll be talking about her book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/40595643-protocols-in-the-classroom\"><em>Protocols in the Classroom<\/em><\/a>. She\u2019s written this book with co-authors; David Allen, Tina Blythe and Alan Dichter. Terra is not just an author, she&#8217;s also an educator who has a wealth of experience in using protocols with students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thanks for joining me,\u00a0Terra. Tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-17700\" src=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Terra-1-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Author Terra Lynch (left) and host Jeanie Phillips (right) hold up a copy of the book Protocols in the Classroom\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Terra-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Terra-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Terra-1-370x493.jpg 370w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Terra-1-270x360.jpg 270w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Terra-1-740x987.jpg 740w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hi. Thanks for having me. My name is Terra Lynch. I am a learning specialist. I\u2019m a teacher and I\u2019m a dyslexic advocate. And I&#8217;m also an author now. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Congratulations on your book. It just came out a month or so ago? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It came out at the end of the summer, yes. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excellent. It was perfect timing for me because I teach Co<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">llaborative Practices. I teach people how to use protocols. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We often encourage people to use protocols with students. This book is really a roadmap for that. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Students reading articles on what modern day employers are looking for in their new hires, and using the three levels of text protocol from SRI to guide and deepen their understandings and connections. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RTS_VT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RTS_VT<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/grcsu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#grcsu<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/vted?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#vted<\/a> @JPhillipsVT <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DGJ16dgE7A\">pic.twitter.com\/DGJ16dgE7A<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sean Hirten (@seanhirtenVT) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/seanhirtenVT\/status\/1050153859652481025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 10, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s good to hear. Another hat that I wear is working with teachers and coaching, so often what comes up when I\u2019m working with adults is &#8220;that sounds like I can use in the classroom.&#8221; Over time, during the debrief, I add a step and do uses. What are some uses with adults? What are some uses with children? That led to, why don\u2019t we have a book about using protocols in the classroom? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excellent. I\u2019m really glad that it exists. I\u2019ve pointed a lot of people to it. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>I want to start the conversation by just asking why?\u00a0\u00a0Why bother with protocols with students?<\/h2>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Okay, great question. I was thinking: is it the same answer as using protocols with adults? And to a certain extent it is. It\u2019s a way to focus the conversation. It\u2019s a way to frame ideas to be using time efficiently. To help children with expressive of language. I find that having the ordered steps and the clarity of the formatting even, can help students who might otherwise struggle to know what the expectations are for time, for their role. What\u2019s coming next? How long might this take? I find it sort of provides a scaffold for kids in the classroom. It also builds a lot of habits that they can use in other areas of life. That\u2019s a nice part about using protocols with kids. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s just back up for a\u00a0minute. For people who aren\u2019t familiar with protocols, when we say protocol, what do you mean, specifically? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolreforminitiative.org\/protocols\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-17937 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-20-at-9.56.22-AM-1024x333.png\" alt=\"A snapshot from the School Reform Initiative's website with a link to Protocols.\" width=\"770\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-20-at-9.56.22-AM-1024x333.png 1024w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-20-at-9.56.22-AM-300x98.png 300w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-20-at-9.56.22-AM-768x250.png 768w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-20-at-9.56.22-AM-370x120.png 370w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-20-at-9.56.22-AM-270x88.png 270w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-01-20-at-9.56.22-AM-740x241.png 740w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not a straitjacket. *laughs* I think there\u2019s a real misunderstanding that a protocol is a series of steps that you must do for the sake of the protocol. For me, it\u2019s really not so much about the steps as much as the group that you\u2019re working with. How might this particular protocol &#8212; or way of talking about an idea, or discussing an idea, or delving into different ideas &#8212; how might this series of steps provide support for a class, and for individuals of the class to not only improve their own learning and understanding of something, but be part of the group and push the group\u2019s thinking as well?\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What I\u2019m hearing is that protocols are structures that support learning, but also that protocols are their own learning. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Protocols and student agency<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-17687\" src=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-29-at-5.28.42-PM-300x130.png\" alt=\"A snapshot from the School Reform Initiative's website with tools for Protocols for Youth Engagement.\" width=\"450\" height=\"194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-29-at-5.28.42-PM-300x130.png 300w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-29-at-5.28.42-PM-768x332.png 768w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-29-at-5.28.42-PM-1024x442.png 1024w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-29-at-5.28.42-PM-370x160.png 370w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-29-at-5.28.42-PM-270x117.png 270w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-29-at-5.28.42-PM-740x320.png 740w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That learning to do the protocol also teaches you these other skills around communication and collaboration that you wouldn\u2019t get at without that structure. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. Actually, as you say that, it also makes me think about the importance of the debrief, and ways that protocols are learning structures and they\u2019re flexible. I think that the debrief is a key piece of that. The individual who speaks in the debrief and those who listen to each other are able to then change next time how things went [based on] the particular needs of that group. I think that\u2019s really the beauty of using protocols with kids. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It gives them agency to make decisions about how things are going to run in the classroom. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I love that. We\u2019re going to talk more about the debrief later. I know you teach in Texas (where we are now), but the audience for this podcast is Vermont educators. A lot of Vermont educators are familiar with using protocols for staff meetings or in professional learning communities. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The amazing and thoughtful teachers at White River Valley engaged in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SchoolReformInc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SchoolReformInc<\/a> micro lab protocol. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ruV8OTE1VP\">pic.twitter.com\/ruV8OTE1VP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Michael Eppolito (@MichaelEppolito) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MichaelEppolito\/status\/894956673223274496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 8, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019re giving us some good reasons to use them with students. One of the connections I see is with <a href=\"https:\/\/education.vermont.gov\/student-learning\/proficiency-based-learning\/transferable-skills\">Vermont\u2019s transferable skills?<\/a>\u00a0Which is our version of 21<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> century skills.\u00a0I wonder if you want to talk a little bit about those kinds of skills like communication, clear and effective communication we call it, or collaboration or problem solving. How you think protocols connect with what we used to think of as &#8220;soft skills&#8221;. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">What are rules and why do we have them? Working on our <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/pbl?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#pbl<\/a> unit with a chalk talk! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/grcsu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#grcsu<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/pres?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#pres<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/vted?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#vted<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ProctorSchool?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ProctorSchool<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NlskP1BxwQ\">pic.twitter.com\/NlskP1BxwQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Corey Smith (@VTCoreySmith) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VTCoreySmith\/status\/1060163370937212931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 7, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Building transferable skills using protocols<\/h2>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> Yes, I\u2019d love to. That actually reminds me of some research that I did for a children\u2019s museum and the focus on STEAM. The idea of STEAM being Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math and how important\u00a021st-century<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> skills are to pull them together. You can be a great engineer, but without the ability to be a flexible thinker, to be open to new ideas, to be open to feedback, to give feedback to others, to work within a group to get a process done, you can\u2019t really be a successful engineer. And that\u2019s true of all those different silos within the STEAM term.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What\u2019s great about protocols is that\u00a0the process itself does allow students to practice all of those different skills.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It can be pretty explicit. In elementary school for sure, but even in middle and high school, I\u2019ve used sentence starters to help students begin to use feedback phrases or to ask for further clarification because that doesn\u2019t always come naturally. Then, you can get stuck if you\u2019re not able to ask for what you need or ask for more information to further understand the problem. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b>\u00a0For me, thinking about the context in which I work, a lot of times we feel really confident in the content areas that we teach. We don\u2019t feel as confident in how do we teach these 21st-century<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> skills or transferable skills. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And this feels like a great toolbox through which you can teach these portable, transportable skills that cross disciplines and cross out into the real world. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes framed as &#8220;the four C\u2019s&#8221; &#8212; collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity &#8212;\u00a0 these skills are increasingly recognized as essential for success in school, college, the workplace, and society. Such skills are the stock-in-trade of protocols, which push students to articulate their thinking, listen carefully to the ideas of others, and work collaboratively to address key questions and challenges. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They foster students understanding the key aspects of collaborations such as presenting their work to peers, asking thoughtful questions of others, providing feedback to one another, etcetera. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;\">Yes, that quote is similar to what we are talking about.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I really love the quote at the end by Emily Rossi:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Once students are familiar with the protocol, they feel confident about how to run the discussion, what frees them up to be bold in what they choose to contribute. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That idea of students running the classroom, owning the classroom, is so powerful. <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is something that protocols really help with. And the idea of being bold. I just think that\u2019s what I wanted my students to be bold, whether it\u2019s in their content, in their thinking, or in advocacy for themselves or for the people around them. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I love that. I also think about how the best artists\u00a0are creative within constraints. Protocols are a really great construction that allow you to do deep thinking because of the constraints. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, I agree that having constraints can be liberating because you don\u2019t have to worry, think, or spend energy about what might be coming next. I keep talking about the debrief, but the debrief too can help with equilibrium where sometimes we do need to loosen the\u00a0constraints a little bit because of the topic or experience with the group or a lot of other reasons. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Choosing a protocol<\/h2>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. The second part of the book, the second section I think, you get into the section called, \u201cGetting Going.\u201d You start with choosing a protocol which is, as somebody who works with adults, a really challenging process. You organize your protocols around these two categories that I found really useful and thoughtful. One is purposes and one is habits. I wonder if you wanted to talk us through your thinking in terms of organizing protocols that way.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Purposes\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sure. The idea of purpose is probably something familiar to the people who are listening. Since anything you do in the classroom, the more clear your purpose, the more clearly you articulate to your students the why, the more buy-in I think you tend to get. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, I know that for me as a planner, I tend to over-plan. I can go in 500 directions, but to have that clear purpose stated helps provide the constraints that I need to stay focused and get what I need done. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are some of the purposes that these protocols address? \u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My favorite one is to build community, which to me is one of the most important pieces of being in the classroom with students. How to be a good listener is another purpose. Not just in a sense of listening and repeating but listening to understand the perspectives of others. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Again, to me, to be an individual in this group classroom is sort of an organic family kind of situation. It\u2019s really important to understand the\u00a0perspectives of others, to know they exist and then to move deeper into appreciation or to move to a point of trust that you can disagree. Or push back. That\u2019s another one of the important purposes. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then going back to the idea of self-advocacy and agency in students too, protocols, you may choose to help students speak up, use their voice in different ways, develop expressive language. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those are all really important for the classroom and beyond. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a teacher, when I\u2019m thinking about content, I\u2019m also thinking about the group dynamics or the group needs. When I\u2019m thinking about how I\u2019m going to bring some content in and have students process it, I will also have a lens of looking at it in terms of: <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;What does this particular class need to practice, or even to show off about? What can they show that they\u2019ve learned in terms of somebody\u2019s habits as well?&#8221;\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ve addressed purposes. You\u2019ve unpacked that for us. Now, unpack that word habits. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8230;and Habits\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, habits. We went back and forth about whether we should call them habits or skills or what were they? But habits are the idea of something that you practice to get better at. To become less forced and more routine, more natural. Those habits are baked into the protocols not necessarily explicitly. We wanted to pull them out, thinking of teachers in classrooms in mind, just for the very reason that they are transferable. They can be used across classrooms. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I guess in my dreamy world of dreams, students are using protocols in various classrooms so that they can also instinctively see, this works in science <strong>and<\/strong> in English. <\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe they\u2019ll find themselves in another situation during the school day where they might use some of the habits like, <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cCould you tell me more about what you mean by that saying?\u201c <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, habits are\u00a0certainly throughout adult life, too, we\u2019re just always using them, so we are always fine-tuning them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nice. Could you name some of those habits more specifically? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, I can. I think I talked earlier for one of the purposes of understanding other\u2019s perspectives. That\u2019s one of the habits that comes up in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolreforminitiative.org\/download\/compass-points-north-south-east-and-west-for-youth-engagement\/\">Compass Points<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/schoolreforminitiative.org\/doc\/fears_hopes.pdf\">Fears and Hopes<\/a>. Let\u2019s see. Listening, we also talked about. There are a couple of protocol-like activities I love for that one, too, involving using names. Even just having kids call on each other when there are multiple answers and calling them by name. I think it\u2019s just such a wonderful way to acknowledge and listen to others. You have to pay attention who said what, who hasn\u2019t.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Listening is one.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Making connections<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One thing that I think of when planning is, how much is lower order thinking? How much is higher order thinking and how do we get students to move from that factual receive information, give information back? How do we move them up to comparing, contrasting, analyzing? Those are some habits also that are part of protocols and also certainly transferable. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-17936 size-full\" title=\" Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching\" src=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blooms-Taxonomy.jpg\" alt=\"Bloom's Taxonomy diagram. \" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blooms-Taxonomy.jpg 960w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blooms-Taxonomy-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blooms-Taxonomy-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blooms-Taxonomy-370x208.jpg 370w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blooms-Taxonomy-270x152.jpg 270w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Blooms-Taxonomy-740x416.jpg 740w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/h2>\n<h2>Moving to complex understandings.<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One protocol that didn\u2019t make it in here, that I love, is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolreforminitiative.org\/download\/atlas-looking-at-data\/\">Atlas Looking at Data<\/a>, which maybe some of your teachers will be familiar with. It\u2019s one of my personal favorites. What I like about is it helps people move from factual to more complex understanding.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">ISD instructional support team reviewing fall schoolwide data using the &quot;ATLAS looking at data&quot; protocol. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/isdwow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#isdwow<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/issedu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#issedu<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3PqEpEArcF\">pic.twitter.com\/3PqEpEArcF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Howard De Leeuw (@howarddeleeuw1) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/howarddeleeuw1\/status\/788179873005047808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 18, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was able to use it after we have put in the draft with some of my Spanish students. It\u2019s just so cool to see them analyze. They asked each other questions about likes and dislikes of sports in Spanish. Then, to see them do their analysis of those \u201csi\u2019s and no\u2019s\u201d was pretty cool. Hear their various interpretations. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, that\u2019s really where the learning is, right? When you can take it up to those steps. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just having a tool that helps you do that, right? Because that\u2019s hard work. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is. Yes, I think it\u2019s hard to break down just conceptually for a teacher. To relay that information and help students grasp it can be hard too, so having it laid out sure does help. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Choosing a protocol is part of the battle, but for a lot for us, especially when we\u2019re new to facilitating protocols, that\u2018s tricky business.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It can feel really risky as a teacher to step into a space where you\u2019re making space for students. <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You have a section in here that I really appreciate for that. It outlines some clear steps and tips for facilitation. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I just want to hear from your own perspective with running protocols with students, some good suggestions for people who are new to facilitating protocols with students. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sure. I think we have numbers in our favor in classrooms, where we\u2019ve got 180 days with students. When we\u2019re working with teachers, we don\u2019t usually get that much time. So I think in some way, students can be more forgiving because we have more chances to work with them. Keeping in mind that, there\u2019s not usually just one protocol that will fit the situation, but there\u2019s a variety that will give you feedback or information that\u2019s useful. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You may find at the end that something else could have worked better perhaps, but for the most part, I try to stay away from just choosing the one protocol. I know that many of them will work. Going back to that purpose, which one of these fits most with the purpose. It doesn\u2019t have to be a perfect fit. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Tips for facilitating protocols<\/h2>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One mistake that I made with a gallery walk with sixth graders was that I wasn\u2019t specific enough in how I requested they provide feedback. There was a round of very vague and sixth grade-ish terminology on the posters that students had made. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That was a learning experience for and me and the students. I need to be more clear which in teaching I can always be more clear. I tried to frame the questions at the end so the students could see the value of giving more specific feedback rather than generic kind of goofy feedback.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tip is to be really clear. When it doesn\u2019t work, think about the questions that you can ask that might help the students understand why you would do it differently next time. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What I\u2019m hearing is that it\u2019s okay to be transparent in your facilitation and say, <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOh, I didn\u2019t really do a good job of that. What might I do differently next time?\u201d <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Solicit their feedback. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Soliciting student feedback<\/h2>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think that\u2019s great. One that I use a lot, again, because I think giving clear directions is tricky especially at the end a day of teaching. There are a\u00a0couple of students in particular who are great at clarifying questions. Then I\u2019ll say, <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI think I\u2019m being clear with this, but can you ask me some clarifying questions so I make sure\u2026 so that I can make it even clearer.\u201d <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or, if it starts going in a wonky direction, I can say, <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOkay, wait a minute. I don\u2019t think I was clear enough. Who can help me articulate this?&#8221;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I love asking the students for help. Yes, and being transparent\u2026 I mean, why not? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17775\" src=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/reflect_dagnabbit.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;That first time you do a protocol, it's like a brand new pair of hiking boots. It's uncomfortable. You have to really do a protocol a couple of times before you start to see the value.&quot;\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/reflect_dagnabbit.jpg 450w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/reflect_dagnabbit-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/reflect_dagnabbit-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/reflect_dagnabbit-270x180.jpg 270w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That reminds me that, I think this is true for adults, and I know it\u2019s true for students as well, that first time you do a protocol, you hate it. It\u2019s like a brand new pair of hiking boots. It chafes, it\u2019s uncomfortable. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You have to really do a protocol or do protocols a couple of times before you start to see the value.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the things that I do when I facilitate with people who are new to protocols, is just to own that at the beginning. This is going to feel uncomfortable. You\u2019re going to notice that it\u2019s uncomfortable sometimes. I want you to notice that and think about how did the discomfort or the structure that felt uncomfortable serve our learning? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Right, I agree. We were keep coming back to the debrief and the importance of the debrief. Setting expectations at the beginning to why we\u2019re doing this and why it might feel uncomfortable, but then coming to the end and seeing how uncomfortable were they or were they not. That process of setting up and finishing is a super important one for sure. And definitely helps with kids adapting to protocols. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes\u2026 I\u2019m trying to think\u2026 I think sometimes I get more pushback from adults than from kids using protocols. Sometimes I will use different names to warm them up and then explain what the protocol is. So there\u2019s another little tip or trick. *laughs*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t call it a protocol. I really appreciate that you keep coming back to the debrief. I think it\u2019s the easiest part to skip. Yet, it\u2019s really the richest space for learning. For learning how the structures supported you or didn\u2019t support you and how you might do it differently, but also for like, what helps us learn. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s a great way to be metacognitive. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yeah. I totally agree. That timing piece is something that I think teachers feel more constrained by in a classroom than in professional development because we really have just that set number of minutes. Sometimes in PD you can go over by five minutes. But yes, I think there\u2019s a certain mathematical quality also to doing protocols in the classroom. Which also comes with practice, where you think about how much time you actually have. Think about changing the timing based on what you have. And then, knowing which parts need to be a little bit longer than the others. Rather than just dividing them equally into three minutes segments, that kind of thing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also, in the midst, if being transparent with the students, to say,<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201cOur time is up for this section, but I hear so much deep conversation that I\u2019d like to extend this and pull back on the next step&#8221; <\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but I really try not to take it from the debrief. However, I do have a couple of tricks for time there. I\u2019ll use the individual whiteboards and have kids write their debrief? Then, I just take a picture of everybody&#8217;s on their way out and share it that way, rather than doing a go-round. That can be a quicker way. Or, they can email me. So d<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">oing a written debrief can save some time when you\u2019re really squeezed, but you know you can\u2019t sacrifice the debrief. But the beauty of that is then you have the words for the students to look at next time you meet and do some analysis of, or use as a segue-way to the next part. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s great. I was going to ask you, do you circle back to those the next day or the next time you have kids. It sounds like you do. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. The other reason that I use the debrief in sort of circling back and tracking it is that: not every protocol is everyone going to like to the same degree. And that\u2019s okay. The purpose is not everyone is going to love it each time of time. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everybody brings different strength and weaknesses to it. <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes, it\u2019s going to be easy peasy, you\u2019re going to love it. Other times, it\u2019s going to be harder, but we\u2019re all as a group moving and working together. We do it in different ways. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learning is often uncomfortable. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">YES! Being in a (genuine) state of learning is uncomfortable. <\/p>\n<p>Instructors need to support their students in feeling discomfort rather than looking down upon them or trying to alleviate it. <\/p>\n<p>The struggle is real. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/evidencebasedteaching?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#evidencebasedteaching<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LttxWDsH3w\">https:\/\/t.co\/LttxWDsH3w<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sho Jacobs (@shoshanahjacobs) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/shoshanahjacobs\/status\/1022922513368723456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 27, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s true. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Protocols are places where learning happen. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s true. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m going to read a quote from page 30. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Protocols are thought-demanding exercises, requiring habits of behavior and thinking skills that may pose challenges for students. Some of those habits and skills include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Articulating ideas out loud<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking within time constraints<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Staying focused and resisting digressions<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following a sequence of steps in a disciplined way<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Formulating questions<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Listening attentively <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding others perspectives. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As I read down the list, I think of the role of learning specialist.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s one of the things that I do in working with kids with dyslexia, with ADHD, with other brain-based differences. What I was saying earlier, protocols offer a lot for those students. I was thinking of &#8220;speaking within time constraints,&#8221; &#8220;staying focused and resisting digressions,&#8221; &#8220;following a sequence of steps.&#8221; These are some of the habits and skills that everyone benefits from, but I think it especially supports some of those students. I was thinking of some of my English language learners with the first bullet, &#8220;articulating ideas aloud.&#8221; Not just English language learners, but it can be intimidating to speak to a group.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s where some of the protocol like activities come in handy. <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where first you\u2019re speaking to one person or maybe a triad before speaking to a whole group, but through repetition and practice and habit and scaffolding, the kids become comfortable speaking to the whole group. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before we move into that, I just want to say that these habits and skills, the way that protocols demand of us these things, these are not just hard for students. These are really hard for adults as well in schools. I just really appreciate how clearly you all unpacked that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This whole chapter is about developing buy-in. I would really love for you to walk through some of the exercises that help students practice the skills they need in order to participate well in protocols, but that they\u2019re smaller exercises. These are really great differentiation strategies. And I&#8217;d just love to hear you unpack a few of them. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Absolutely. I\u2019m going to start with Postcards on page 33. What I love about this is, it\u2019s very flexible. It can be used at the start of the class to get kids predicting, it can be used at the end as a sum-up.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17939\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17939\" style=\"width: 770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Postcards.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17939 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Postcards-1024x774.jpeg\" alt=\"&quot;Postcards: Purpose: Generating ideas for and interest in a topic. This activity requires a set of picture postcards; the best ones to use are those that require some interpretation. The facilitator distributes a postcard to each student, asking that students not look until told to do so. The facilitator then poses a prompt designed to get the students talking about some aspect of the upcoming topic; for example, &quot;The card you have has a picture. How does the picture remind you of your favorite book?&quot; &quot;...of a time you were on a school trip?&quot; &quot;...of an experience you had working in groups?&quot; Students are given 30 seconds to think of a response (or more for younger students). Then they share in small groups. The facilitator may then ask a few volunteers to share publicly, or, if the class is small enough and time allows, do a go-round in which everybody shares. The facilitator might also have two students share the same card and talk about what was similar and different about their reactions. (Adapted from Postcards from the Edge from the School Reform Initiative website).&quot;\" width=\"770\" height=\"582\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Postcards-1024x774.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Postcards-300x227.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Postcards-768x581.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Postcards-370x280.jpeg 370w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Postcards-270x204.jpeg 270w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Postcards-740x560.jpeg 740w, https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Postcards-80x60.jpeg 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17939\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An excerpt from page 33 of the book describing the Postcards activity. Click or tap to enlarge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I love having a toolkit that\u2019s flexible. <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What I also like about Postcards is the visual element which is such a great way to get buy-in for a response from a student as opposed to text, which sometimes provides\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">buy-in. Postcards can be used with texts as well. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can you tell us what it looks like?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sure. What it looks like is, you have a set of images. I sometimes have them thematically<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">based<\/span><b>, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">based on what we\u2019re talking about in class. Or sometimes if my purpose is more about figurative language or more about building community, I\u2019ll use this beautiful set of postcards from Magnum Photography. They are large format. There are beautiful colors. They represent people of different ages and different groupings all over the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Building community#postcards <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/facilitatingleaders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#facilitatingleaders<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/statenisland?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#statenisland<\/a> @sibfsc @District31R <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bNLwew2THI\">pic.twitter.com\/bNLwew2THI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Terra Lynch (@terrateacher) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/terrateacher\/status\/752931744320462848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 12, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ll spread those out on the table or on the desk and have students do a little quiet think time. Which is always helpful, I think, and come up with some kind of, it can be a connection, a question. I actually used them recently for students to practice weather, in my Spanish class.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>An entryway into conversation<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They had a chance to think about what they\u2019re going to say. Then they turn to a\u00a0partner and said, &#8220;hace frio<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d or whatever the particular phrase was. That\u2019s like a really quick and easy use of postcards that gives students something to talk about. Kind of entryway into conversation. It gets them talking to the person next to them, and listening to the person next to them. That\u2019s one way that you can use postcards. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Talking about what it takes to build community in class. Using pictures as prompts made it easy!! Thanks <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MichaelEppolito?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MichaelEppolito<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/T4w0HX7GEh\">pic.twitter.com\/T4w0HX7GEh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ally Oswald (@OswaldAlly) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OswaldAlly\/status\/920664567696543745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 18, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s interesting. I love to use images. I love to use them as metaphors, but I don\u2019t use postcards. I\u2019ve made my own cards from National Geographic magazines. That\u2019s a really cheap way. Rubber cement, National Geographic magazines,\u00a0and index cards\u00a0is a really cheap way to make some images that you can use in lots of different contexts. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. I\u2019m chuckling because I have a stack of old magazines that my students use for collages, but they\u2019re going a little out of hand, so I went through and pulled out some of the more striking images. And they&#8217;re on my desk to cut and put on construction paper to use in the classroom. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Folks, as a librarian, I will just say, <em>check your libraries<\/em>. They usually some have some old issues of National Geographic.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I hope that they\u2019re willing to part with?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They\u2019re often willing to part with. Check your school libraries, your public libraries and look around. See if you can get some of those. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. That makes me think of my incredible library in Austin, Texas. My public library, they\u2019ve got a great Spanish language selection of magazines. I will take pictures of them to use in class. I\u2019ve just thought, oh, the next time at postcards, maybe I\u2019ll use something from an advertisement from a magazine. It\u2019s got more text because my students are ready to discuss more text, so&#8230; thanks. *laughs*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s unpack one more exercise that gets people ready for protocols. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Okay. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gets students ready I should say for protocols. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m debating between Turn and Talk, or Pair Share, and Warm and Cool, but since we\u2019ve already talked about postcards and treated it as a turn and talk. Of course, you can do it as a whole group. It\u2019s super flexible that way, but I think I\u2019m going to go to Warm and Cool. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Warm and Cool<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The way that this prepares students for protocols is giving them practice and feedback. In a couple of ways, starting with warm feedback and moving to cool, so that the person is more willing to hear the cool. It as a strategy or a habit that kids can use. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Warm feedback meaning things that are positive, things that are good in a piece or in the work. Cool feedback: areas for improvement? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Our writing gets better when we respond to warm and cool feedback from those who read it! \u2728\u2728<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ourwritingwallsrock?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ourwritingwallsrock<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/feedbackmatters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#feedbackmatters<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/penemcg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@penemcg<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EStothard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@EStothard<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EnglefieldLee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@EnglefieldLee<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SteveHarrisDEL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SteveHarrisDEL<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mccallumtp?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@mccallumtp<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GlenrockNetwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@GlenrockNetwork<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qKHn794lZ6\">pic.twitter.com\/qKHn794lZ6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Wiripaang Public School (@wiripaang) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wiripaang\/status\/1056011549544873984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 27, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, thank you for that, for clarifying. Sometimes I will frame the debrief in terms of warm and cool, the debrief from the class. Not necessarily from a protocol, to have them used to using those terms and framing feedback. Our school does a debrief at the end of every class, across the board. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s one way to get the students practicing with warm and cool feedback. Sometimes it\u2019s about me and my lesson plans, sometimes it\u2019s about the other students. It can be safer to talk about me versus a peer, but they get to a point where they\u2019re happy to talk about a peer and\/or themselves and how well they felt they did in the class. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is another one of those multi-purpose, short, but meaningful ways to get students used to more complex and more multi-step kinds of protocols. <\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When giving feedback becomes more part of their day, then we can help them break down some of their questioning about the piece to get to that feedback and have them also use the feedback and then show where their evidence is. Then, that also can become a pre-writing activity. Making a statement using evidence is such an important piece.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just a simple warm and cool feedback, whether it\u2019s to me about the class, to a peer about some of their work, or about their own reflection on work are all great ways to help them get into some of the longer protocols. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Protocols and proficiency-based education<\/h2>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This really intrigues me. As we think about transferable skills in Vermont, several of them involve revision and iteration. Self-direction and perseverance ask kids to think about how they might get better over time. Collaboration asks us to give and receive feedback. Thinking about us moving towards a proficiency-based or competency-based system where we\u2019re really asking kids to be able to take feedback from a teacher, for teachers to really think about the feedback for growth that they\u2019re giving to students. As students really think about their learning as a growth process. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Check out Feedback Protocols from <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SchoolReformInc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SchoolReformInc<\/a> to provide your students with regular opportunities for structured feedback. Do you have other sources for feedback protocols that you can share? <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AssessStudentLearning?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AssessStudentLearning<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PBL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PBL<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FAr6wwEQck\">https:\/\/t.co\/FAr6wwEQck<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7uuGLm2Ybn\">pic.twitter.com\/7uuGLm2Ybn<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; PBLWorks (@PBLWorks) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PBLWorks\/status\/999000501659230208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 22, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Warm and Cool feedback feels like a really great skill for kids as we transform our learning to a proficiency-based system. As we transform our system towards a proficiency or competency-based system.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, absolutely because you have to be specific. You have to point out the specific competencies, so the student\u00a0knows where they are, where they move from and where they\u2019re heading to. So that there is specific feedback versus, \u201cHey, great job!\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re able to give really specific feedback, you might be more able to receive it. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. Also, there\u2019s an idea that I don\u2019t know that we mentioned earlier, but of flexible thinking. The importance of flexible thinking. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Say more about that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of the students I work with really see the world in black and white binary. The world doesn\u2019t usually work out that way. So, helping students think more broadly about the world around them. Some of that comes in with listening to the perspectives of others. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, being a flexible thinker, like being open to another\u2019s idea in order to change your idea or change what you\u2019re doing, is an important habit and skill. Certainly for work with other people, but even if you\u2019re working on your own, there are some things that happen that you don\u2019t have control over, so you have to change what you\u2019re doing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think about students who struggle with executive function. If they&#8217;ve made a plan and it doesn\u2019t go as planned, they might just give up or feel overwhelmed. Having that flexible thinking, it\u2019s like, <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOkay, this is what happened, what am I going to do to continue on to my goal.&#8221;\u00a0 <\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, it can be again, coming from someone else, \u201cHey, you forgot to include the poster in this project.\u201d Like, \u201cOh, class is next period, what am I going to do? How am I going to think this out?\u201d Or even in a planning stage, thinking about different ways to achieve a goal. I think those are all flexible thinking pieces. If someone gives you feedback, valuable feedback, you\u2019ve got to be able to internalize it and then make a change based on it. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. The more we can practice that, the better, right? Because we need students taking feedback from teachers but also from each other. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, for sure. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b>\u00a0And w<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">e do that in the world. That\u2019s another transferable skill. You shared some examples &#8212; and I just think your examples are so valuable. I really want you just to tell another story about a protocol in action, in a classroom, maybe in the middle grades. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A lot of the protocols in this book are really familiar to me, but one that is new to me is the\u00a0Fears and Hopes protocol. Could you give me just a snapshot of what that looks like in the classroom? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Fears and Hopes<\/h2>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sure. Last year, I started mid-year in a Spanish class. The first thing I did was Fears and Hopes. Anytime you follow another teacher, it can be a little tricky. I wanted to make the way smoother for myself and for the students by allowing them to articulate their fears about me as a teacher and the change. It\u2019s really about change, I think. To tell me some of their hopes so that I can then help to allay their fears and fulfill their hopes.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Reviewing my 6th graders\u2019 hopes for class. I totally agree! (Hopes not shown include free bitcoin, early dismissals, and parties every week.) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FkKsJNjFFE\">pic.twitter.com\/FkKsJNjFFE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Terra Lynch (@terrateacher) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/terrateacher\/status\/962359216118943746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 10, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What came up really is that the students were worried that I was going to be mean, strict, give too much homework. What they hoped is that I would be fun. That I would allow them to keep the sticker system that they had had. Which I really wasn\u2019t interested in keeping, but in seeing their hopes, seeing the patterns around the sticker system, made me realize, this is really important to them. I\u2019m going to maintain it as part of this transition. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I knew I was going to be mean and strict, but to allow them to surface that fear, I could acknowledge where that might be coming from and I could let them know, I probably won\u2019t be mean and strict. It hasn\u2019t really been part of my teaching persona so far. Then, they are able to see it. That also was a really great way to lead to norms. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Based on their hopes for the class, that it would be fun, that we&#8217;d have the sticker system. We\u2019d make food. They created the class norms. One of my favorite ones was my boy named Fin, who said, <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHave fun! But be mature.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which for a sixth grader\u2026 it\u2019s a bit of a challenge. Each class had their own norms. They\u2019re a little bit different, though there are similar patterns in the classes that I took over about their fears and hopes.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This also, I brought in before end of year assessments too. Like, what are they really worried about? Which one&#8217;s going to say, \u201cIt\u2019s not even going to be on the test. Don\u2019t worry.\u201d Which ones tell me, \u201cAll right, we need to spend time focusing.\u201d That\u2019s it. Those are two examples of using Fears and Hopes recently in the classroom. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I love those as ways to really surface the unsaid things in the classroom, to make space for kids to say them and feel heard. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think that feeling \u201cheard\u201d is such a powerful thing. <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ll give an example. And this protocol is not in the book, but it\u2019s one of my favorites to use with students: <a href=\"http:\/\/schoolreforminitiative.org\/doc\/affinity_mapping.pdf\">affinity mapping<\/a>. At a time when my students\u2026 maybe it was early spring. They were starting to disengage. Instead of clamping down, we took a whole class and we affinity mapped: <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;What does engaged learning look like?&#8221;<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They had their little sticky notes. And we organized them into groups, into clusters. We could think about what could <strong>they<\/strong> do to make our learning more engaging and what could <strong>I<\/strong> do? One of the things that came up was field trips. Great! Let\u2019s figure out how we can &#8212; in a way that is relevant to the work we\u2019re doing together &#8212; organize some trips outside of school that would make it more engaging for them. Some of it was on me and some of it was on them, but they co-constructed it. It really made a huge difference. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Students from 6 Two Rivers schools affinity map the TRSU vision statement @GMUHSlibrary <a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/1rBqcN7XgG\">pic.twitter.com\/1rBqcN7XgG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Michael Eppolito (@MichaelEppolito) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MichaelEppolito\/status\/603961871306207232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 28, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s cool. That actually reminds me just in terms of the inquiry process, I had some students affinity mapping. One particular student really had trouble making the categories. She had really broad categories. I saw patterns coming in underneath them and some of the other kids did. It raised the question for me like, \u201cWhat\u2019s keeping the student from seeing these smaller categories?&#8221; And so that became part of my process as a teacher to understanding the student. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I love that. That leads right to the next thing I want to really discuss. Which is, you\u2019ve got this whole chapter on getting better with protocols. We have talked about the debrief a lot. Which is one great way to get better at protocols, but I love this section. I haven\u2019t really heard people dealing with this before. I feel like this is new thinking for me about how you document the learning when you\u2019re doing a protocol. How protocols can be used as a way to document learning. I\u2019d love to hear what this looks like in practice. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Documenting learning<\/h2>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. This is one that I\u2019m working on as well. There\u2019s an educator whose blog I follow. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.angelastockman.com\/\">Angela Stockman<\/a>, who is just incredible about documenting learning. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Yes! Cell phones can be a tool that helps learners AND teachers sustain their JOY and their PASSION for learning. When we document the learning journey, we notice so much we wouldn&#39;t have otherwise. It increases our curiosity. It&#39;s interesting, engaging stuff. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dCecEwaHkT\">https:\/\/t.co\/dCecEwaHkT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Angela Stockman (she\/her) (@AngelaStockman) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AngelaStockman\/status\/977144336554045440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 23, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She has a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reggioalliance.org\/\">Reggio<\/a> background and pulls that in. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m actually really trying to work on this one because I take a lot of photographs. <\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Luckily, phones allow us to do that pretty easily. And in my particular school, the kids have access to laptops. We can document a lot through typing and sharing via Google Drive. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is something I\u2019m trying to figure out how to do more long-term. Certainly, we have posters on the walls that we refer to. I mentioned norms as one of them. At the beginning of this past year, I did Compass Points with my students. I hadn&#8217;t met them before, so to understand our different class dynamics. Those are still hung and sometimes we refer to those. There\u2019s the idea of leaving a footprint in the classroom environment, so that you can refer to it, reflect on it, and go back to in that way, but I\u2019m really trying to find out more ways document digitally. Have it be useful and not just stored somewhere in your Google Drive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That one, I\u2019m still working on. I think blogging might be part of it, having the students blog as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I love a <a href=\"https:\/\/schoolreforminitiative.org\/doc\/text_rendering.pdf\">text rendering protocol<\/a>. It&#8217;s a great protocol that ends up with some charted phrases and words that c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an be really useful to return to that are important say in a text. I also really love charting questions. A lot of protocols ask us to take around and ask questions. Those can be really meaty things to return to again and again. They are sort of essential questions that we can return to and say, \u201cHave we answered this? Do we have new thinking around this question?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Posting those around the classroom too. <\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Text rendering protocol &#8211; word, phrase, sentence &#8211; to discover the main idea and supporting details of a text. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ideasvisible?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ideasvisible<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/strategies?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#strategies<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JBIYBT9fa7\">pic.twitter.com\/JBIYBT9fa7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; ShariB (@bray_shari) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bray_shari\/status\/791087278340841473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 26, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Absolutely. But then, I think there\u2019s a point where the documentation, the wall can be overwhelming and over-stimulating. Then, I think that\u2019s part of\u2026 I share classrooms. That\u2019s also part of the balance, those are some the constraints of sharing classrooms. Only having some part of the wall. Then, also when to retire things and how?\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do we do to with a celebration? Do I just put it in the recycling? Does it go into portfolios? Those are some of the questions too, in terms of learning.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Protocols and Personalized Learning Plans (PLPs)<\/h2>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That raises for me, this idea of whole class documentation and individual documentation. In Vermont, we\u2019re really focused on <a href=\"https:\/\/education.vermont.gov\/sites\/aoe\/files\/documents\/edu-personalized-learning-critical-elements.pdf\">personalized learning plans<\/a> or portfolios for students. It seems to me like, some of the debrief material and some of the images that kids might want to take pictures of &#8212; either their postcards or the phrases from a text rendering as evidence &#8212; and then, reflect on that in the debrief online. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, I agree and adding to that, going back to the norms! I think during the debrief, having students reflect on the norms and look at key points over time because they do grow so much over the year. It\u2019s really important to acknowledge that growth and that hard work in the building of habits. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or how you&#8217;ve become a better listener. Or how you&#8217;ve become better at giving warm and cool feedback. Or the ways in which you are more analytical because of your experience with the steps of the protocol.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Absolutely. Even volume of response. There are so many ways to look at growth and that digital tools allow us to go back and keep learning. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That makes me think that doing a protocol multiple times with a group is a really rich place too, to notice, how do we get better at it? Doing that, <a href=\"http:\/\/schoolreforminitiative.org\/doc\/save_last_word.pdf\">Save the Last Word for Me<\/a>, say, with different texts over time. Part of the debrief is, <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHow are we better at this than we used to be?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, I love that idea. I do love,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/schoolreforminitiative.org\/doc\/save_last_word.pdf\">Save the Last Word for Me<\/a>. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I just love that idea of building, taking a text and building upon it. And I guess what I appreciate is not just, &#8220;I\u2019m reading this and I\u2019m interpreting it and I\u2019m good to go&#8221;, but the value add of others reflecting back, the value of others thought about it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Again, it goes back to that idea of protocols. They help the individual learner but also help the group. Anything about repetition or any multiple ways to look at a text, I always appreciate. Especially for my struggling readers.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That leads me to this next section in your book. Where you talk about the relationships between protocols and other structures. In Vermont, we have these wonderful students at Harwood Union High School who teach other students how to engage in Harkness or Socratic seminars, which I just so admire. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I saw them present recently at the Rowland Conference and I was so impressed with their skill at teaching teachers and students to use those structures. I wonder if you wanted to say anything about how protocols are complementary to these other student voice structures that we see in schools. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. I think that section came up as part of our ongoing discussion, what is and isn\u2019t a protocol?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of the schools that I work with in New York City are using <a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/restorative-justice\/#.XCzizM9KjOQ\">restorative practices<\/a>. Part of the discussion, while there are some similarities in terms of the group, in terms of voice, in terms of expectations for the purpose of coming together, but that\u2019s part of a much bigger program. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think that most of my experience is really with protocols themselves. I don\u2019t have that much to add, but I certainly learned with the other authors more about different things kids are doing. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These structures, it seems to me are really like\u2026 it\u2019s not an either\/or. The way we use protocols can completely help kids get better at Harkness discussions or Socratic seminars. Kids who are engaging in Harkness discussions and Socratic seminars are going to find a real affinity with protocols.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. I think that question of what is and what isn\u2019t,\u00a0 that kind of definition\u2026 it\u2019s not that one is better than the other, just they\u2019re different ways to approach. The more we can allow the students to reflect on that and see the different ways that they can move a group.\u00a0 I want to see these students teaching teachers. I love it. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Students as facilitators<\/h2>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I have deep appreciation in this book for the way that you structure how you can move students to the facilitator role in protocols. We\u2019re not going to talk further about that, but I love that it\u2019s in here. That as you gain experience as a class, moving students to the center of that process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. I\u2019m a big <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.effectiveteaching.com\/\">Harry Wong<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> fan, and that whole idea of the students doing the work is where the learning is, and the students should be tired not the teacher. I think that idea of decentralizing the work, the learning, to the students is what it supposed to be about. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"525\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIn an effective classroom students should not only know what they are doing, they should also know why and how.\u201d -Harry K. Wong<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Learning Forward (@LearningForward) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LearningForward\/status\/708322997854146560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 11, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What an empowering feeling it is to be a twelve-year-old or an eight-year-old or a sixteen-year-old running a 45-minute class, and hearing in that debrief the growth that you are a part of.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> That\u2019s pretty powerful. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s a great way to end. Before we close, I was thinking about other books I might suggest for people besides this wonderful book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/40595643-protocols-in-the-classroom\">Protocols in the Classroom: Tools to Help Students Read, Write, Think and Collaborate<\/a>. Some titles that came to mind is, other places people might turn to for growth are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/2584.The_Facilitator_s_Book_of_Questions?from_search=true\">The Facilitator&#8217;s Book of Questions<\/a> which\u00a0has been a really invaluable tool in my toolbox.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I love those concrete suggestions for when time goes, or when someone goes off topic. They\u2019re very useful for children. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Right, yes. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2018s a good one. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The whole like, \u201cWhat do I do if somebody won\u2019t follow the structure of a protocol?&#8221; Those are very concrete. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They go off topic. They run out of time, yes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/18197764-the-power-of-protocols\">The Power of Protocols<\/a> is also a really powerful text. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Absolutely.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jeanie:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Terra, thank you so much for taking the time in this busy conference to talk to me about this fabulous book. To talk to our listeners about what it looks like to use protocols in the classroom with students. Thank you. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Terra:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thank you for having me. Thanks for the opportunity to talk about books. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m Jeanie Phillips, and this has been an episode of #vted Reads, talking about what Vermont\u2019s educators and students are reading. Thank you to Terra Lynch for appearing on the show and talking with me about <em>Protocols in the Classroom<\/em>. If you\u2019re looking for a copy of<em> Protocols in the Classroom<\/em>, check your local library. To find out more about #vted Reads, including past episodes, upcoming guests and reads, and a whole lot more, you can visit vtedreads.tarrantinstitute.org. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @vtedreads. This podcast is a project of the Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education at the University of Vermont.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Please note: neither I nor the Tarrant Institute received compensation monetary or otherwise from the author for her appearance on this show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to #vted Reads! Now, I recorded this episode back in September out in San Antonio, at the School Reform Initiative&#8217;s Fall 2018 meeting. Author Terra Lynch was kind enough to chat with me about her book for the podcast between sessions. Recording spaces were kind of hard to come by at the conference, &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/terra-lynch\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;#vted Reads: Protocols in the Classroom, with Terra Lynch&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":17700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1004],"tags":[1035,527,1036,994,993],"class_list":["post-17382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vted-reads","tag-behavioral-norms","tag-democratic-classroom","tag-norms","tag-protocols","tag-terra-lynch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17382"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41009,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17382\/revisions\/41009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}