The Instructional Role

In Chapter 3: The Instructional Role Bean describes the school culture as its norms or ways of being. In my school the principal sets up all schedules pertaining to duty, preps and teaching schedules. When we meet to discuss materials and resources is our choice. Though we do not have a reading specialist in the school we do have our personal Literacy coach in the building. Teachers are to meet with her once a month to discuss new materials, resources or instructional plans. Administrators are always aware of meetings with the Literacy Coach and join when possible. When the Literacy coach comes into a classroom for a collaboration, an administrators usually accompany her as a way of familiarizing themselves with what is to be expected. Cook and Friend (1995) identified 9 different topics that should be discussed by teachers and Reading Specialist:

1. Instructional Beliefs- the teacher and the specialist need to come to a common ground with their    
                                      own beliefs
2. When and How to plan- Agreeing on the time for meetings plays a big part due to a lot of  
                                         conflicting schedules like missed preps, other meetings, and conferences.
3. Parity Issues- Students must see the Reading Specialist as another teacher in the room.
4. Confidentially Issues- Discussing the what to share and what to keep private it vital to keep a good
                                        relationship between one another.
5. Noise level- This can be hard due to the fact that some teachers can tolerate more noise than
                        others.
6. Classroom Routines- When co-teaching, the reading specialist needs to be familiar with the
                                       teachers routines.
7. Discipline- Reading Specialist needs to also be familiar with acceptable and unacceptable
                       behaviors from students.
8. Feedback- Discussing how to give feedback.
9. Pet Peeves- Identifying pet peeves before co-teaching can help make a better partnership.

Discussing these points prior to co-teaching can help make an effective collaboration.

Voices From the Field

What lessons can be learned about the role of the reading specialist from this vignette?

The role of a reading specialist is very general. A reading specialist not only works with struggling readers, they also work alongside teachers in order to gear instruction where students are, helping them get to where they need to be. Reading specialists are required to have leadership characteristics in order to succeed, with instructing teachers, sending out assessment data and being available when help is needed.

In what ways does Mark serve as a leader?

Mark is a leader is different aspects of teaching. He keeps a good rapport with teachers, calls 15 minute meetings when problems arise, and teachers feel comfortable to go to him for help.Mark also supports teachers by overseeing groups and coming into a classroom to model lessons. He does everything he needs to do to help his teachers and students.

What questions come to mind after reading this vignette?

How do you deal with a student who can read fluently but struggles with comprehension?

How do you handle teachers who refuse to change their form of teaching?

Chapter 2: An Overview of the Instructional Role

In what ways can reading specialists communicate and collaborate with classroom teachers?

"Reading specialist must communicate and collaborate with teachers who are providing the "first line" of instruction to students." (Bean, p.21) In order for students to get the help they need both the reading specialist and teacher need to work together to guide instruction. The chapter discusses different types of communication and collaboration. Written Communication which are forms completed by both the teachers and the reading specialist to keep them updated as to what is being taught. Oral Communication seems to be the easiest form of communication if both the reading specialist and teacher work in the same school. Scheduled meetings to discuss data results are effective in my school, once a month we give planning time "prep" in order to meet with a coach or reading specialist to discuss different types of instruction. Informal Conversations tend to happen often, when teachers talk briefly during lunch or in class while the students work independently. The three ways of collaboration and communications only work if there is support from administration.  

What possible approaches for collaborative teaching between reading specialists and classroom teachers are available, and what advantages or disadvantages are there to each?

There are five approaches to collaboration that Bean discusses in this chapter. Station or Center Teaching, with this approach, students are able to work with both teachers in a small group setting. Each center provides differentiated instruction and promotes independent work. The disadvantages to station or center teaching is that it can be time- consuming for a teacher to create, thinking about ways to manage each center, the amount of noise appropriate for each center and making sure the students know the rules. Target Teaching focuses on a specific instruction to target student’s needs. Students who need further instruction on a skill can get that with targeted teaching. Reading specialist, or the teacher, can work with students on a reading book to focus on certain skills, like fluency, working on words, comprehension, and so on. Disadvantage for target teaching is deciding on the groups, which students need to be grouped into a skill. Parallel Instruction is having both the reading specialist and teacher teach the same lesson to different groups of students. The teacher chooses the type of scaffolding needed for the group of students they have. This can be difficult when done in the same room, students might be distracted by the noise level or listen to the other lesson rather than their own. Teach and Monitor, with this approach a one teacher completes the instruction while the other moves around the room for monitoring and support to those students who need it. This can benefit teachers who need an extra hand in the classroom but can be hard for teachers who fringe at the fact of having another adult in the room with them. The teacher who is doing the monitoring can give students quick reinforcement, but might feel like their status is being reduced due to the fact that they are not giving the instruction. Team Teaching is a great way to collaborate, in order for team teaching to occur the teacher and the reading specialist must plan out the lessons. Each can get an idea of individual students needs and work with them as a whole or small group. Disadvantages can be the lack of philosophy or approach to instruction. (Bean, p. 31)

What do reading specialists need to know in order to work in schools that use an RTI framework?

In order for reading specialist to work in schools that use an RTI they need to know the student data and how it leads the instruction. There is an importance to reading specialists and teacher collaboration when it comes to the RTI framework. In order for instruction to happen during Tier 2 reading specialist needs to be in the loop with what has been taught and what skills a students is struggling with. Further more, a reading specialist needs to communicate with the teacher on which approach to meet student needs and show progress. This can only be effective if the teacher and the reading specialist communicate and collaborate. 

Response to Article

Response to Coaching: The New Leadership Skill

According to the article "Coaching: The New Leadership Skill" by Michael Fullan and Jim Knight "Next to the principal, coaches are the most crucial change agent in a school." I strongly agree with this statement. Coaches are the guidance all teachers need in order to stay connected with the goals of the district. Looking over data, preparing materials for lessons and deciding which skill the district, as a whole, should focus on will help with the educational reform. 

"School improvement will fail if the work of coaches remains at the one-to-one level. Coaches are system leaders." (Fullen and Knight, 2011)
I believe coaches should vary from one-to-one and building team learning. PLCs and professional developments help coaches get the information out there to teachers but if you want them to fully understand and implement those strategies coaches should offer one-to-one. My current Literacy Coach meets with our PLC once a month and offers to team-teach for further instructional details. Personally I find that to be effective for teachers. 

                                 

Chapter 1:The Role of Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches in Schools, Classrooms, and Communities

Blog #1- Chapter One

Chapter 1: The Role of Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches in Schools, Classrooms, and Communities

A few interesting topics...

How has the role of the reading specialist changed over the years?

Reading Specialist who were funded by Title I were developed to provide supplemental support to students who are economically deprived. (Bean, p.4) Students in the Title I program get "pulled out" from class in order to work in a small setting with another teacher. With the "pullout" program "Some reading specialist were not knowledgeable about the instruction students were receiving in their classrooms, nor did they share what they were doing with the classroom teacher." (Bean, p.4) This can become a problem when it comes to pinpointing a student needs. Each teacher that deals with the students need to be able to communicate in order for the student to succeed.

I related to the "swinging-door" dimension, it is hard to keep students engaged in a lesson without having another teacher stop and pull the out of class. Now changes have been made including collaboration with the teachers and reading specialist working with teachers.

How have the results of national studies served to inform the role of reading specialist?

An ideal specialist has plenty of characteristics that make them take on the leadership role. The author discussed different characteristics like teaching ability, knowledge of assessment, ability to provide professional development, etc.. (Bean, p.10) A reading specialist needs to be a leader because teachers are expecting to learn new techniques and research from them.

 What educational and social factors are affecting the role of the reading specialist?

The author gathers information on different affects a reading specialists has with working in schools.

Teach struggling readers and work with teachers- This is very important due to the fact that teachers learn from each other. PLC meetings help teachers collaborate, share ideas and coaches introduce new instructional methods.   

Technology- teaching methods are evolving and there are many aspects of teaching with technology. Reading specialist need to be familiarized with the different reading softwares there are available for struggling readers.

Diversity- More and more schools are becoming diverse, which means there will be students who's primary language is not English. Reading Specialist need to be able to teach in ways that enhance the language and literacy learning of these students. (Bean, p.16) Therefore reading specialist need to be aware of the different techniques to target those students.

Partnership- Even though reading specialist need take on a leadership role, working with others improves schooling for all. (Bean, p.16) Collaboration with parents, other schools and the community helps teachers, coaches and students.     

Introduction

Introduction

My name is Rasmir Muslah. I am a Third grade teacher currently working in the North Bergen District. I have always planned on moving forward with my education, applying for my Masters' program with a Reading Specialist Certification was one of my top accomplishments. My expectations from this class would be to take in as much information I can use in order to help struggling readers. Implementing new strategies in my class now will help me figure out what works with our students. I love being at work, I love my students and I dedicate most of my time planning for their successful learning. My other hobby is spending nights at the gym. Some facts: I have a major sweet tooth, I love being in the gym, I'm very active and I am the first in my family to apply for my Masters'. 

The role of the Literacy Specialist is to coach teachers and helps to provide aide to improve instruction for readers. The importance of a coach is to suggest instructional guidance in order to help, not just struggling readers but readers as a whole. Literary coaches relay information they see as beneficial for teachers to implement in their classroom. As a Literacy Coach I would provide more visual learning to my teachers. I would guide a teacher's lesson with co-teaching strategies. Co-teaching strategies provide an insight of the different student struggles. I believe in order for a coach to understand the students they must be aware of student needs, test scores do not provide a full measurement. I would be more available to teachers and students, not just communicating with email and monthly meetings.