Last semester, I blogged about focusing on reading as the major goal within a semi-blended approach to my Writing Seminar classes.
Students self-paced their reading and collaborated in reading groups. Initially, students were allowed to choose groups for the first unit. Then, I grouped students based on the Myers Briggs personality inventory for the remainder of the semester.
After the pilot semester and feedback from students, I decided to make a couple adjustments:
1) I employed the Myers Briggs test the first week and students will remain in groups the entire semester. The vast majority of students preferred staying in groups on-line and for in-class Spider Webs over being grouped for Spider Webs based on reading progress. It provided more consistent collaboration in and out of class and students held one another more accountable for the reading. It also has an added bonus for me as I don’t have to deal with the hassle of figuring out these groups based on reading progress (I have too many Google Spreadsheets already).
2) I have made a conscious decision to continue to cut back on direct instruction, focusing rather on creating space for me to be available for students and groups.
3) I continue to message to students that I want them to grapple with the text individually and as a group. I remind them daily that they need to engage the text and document that experience individually (annotations, notes) while also engaging their group mates in helping one another understand the text.
Here is what a typical five-week unit looks like:
Week 1
Monday – teacher instruction (ex. close reading, writing instruction, etc.) or individual time and teacher available to meet
Tuesday – groups meet to determine weekly reading deadlines and two times I assess group on-line discussion boards; individual time and teacher available to meet
Wednesday/Thursday – Instruction in semester-long Architect Project; one-on-one conferences with teacher
Friday – individual time and teacher available to meet
Week 2
Monday – teacher instruction on Architect Project and teacher available to meet
Tuesday – groups meet to prepare for Spider Web discussion
Wednesday/Thursday – groups come for 20-minute Spider Web discussion; remaining time free for individual or group meeting
Friday – individual time and teacher available to meet
Week 3
Monday/Tuesday – one-on-one reading conferences with Mr. Sutton (students must have annotated book or handwritten/computer with notes)
Wednesday/Thursday – finish up one-on-one reading conferences; Architect Project check in and conferences; individual time
Friday – Architect Project check in and conferences; individual time
Week 4
Monday – Introduce final assessment (ex. in-class essay, persuasive essay, group project)
Tuesday – groups meet to prepare for Spider Web; individual time
Wednesday/Thursday – groups come for 20-minute Spider Web discussion; remaining time free for individual or group meeting
Friday – individual time and teacher available to meet
Week 5
Monday/Tuesday – one-on-one reading conferences with teacher (students must have annotated book or handwritten/computer notes); group time to prepare for final Spider Web with emphasis on sharing ideas for final assessment
Wednesday/Thursday – groups come in for 20-minute Spider Web discussion; remaining time free for individual or group time
Friday – individual time and teacher available to meet; possible peer editing of rough drafts or group time to finish project
We are three weeks into our first unit, so student feedback will soon determine if this is the well-oiled machine I envisioned.