My students and I have taken a couple steps forward these past few weeks. The two biggest changes for us this year have been the use of tasks embedded within Educate and the use of a new Writing Workshop approach. Here are some highlights.
Embedded Tasks: This has been a huge plus this fall. In the past, students have been able to log into Educate to find out what is due and when. This year, students can click on live links in the assignment descriptions, links that connect students to actual activities and resources. So far, this new feature has been a big hit. The only trouble has been a temporary internet speed hiccup that is being resolved.
Writing Workshop: I wasn't thrilled with my students' writing progress last year, and I knew I was mostly to blame. So this year, I made some changes. I set up a Writing Workshop approach similar to that being used by MPCL (Maine Partnership for Comprehensive Literacy), and it has worked much better than its predecessor. Writing seemed to need more direct instruction than I was providing students last year. This is still not a slow death by large group lecture fest, but in the structure of the Workshop, I am providing students with more direction. The work of Laura Robb has been quite helpful in this regard.
And so, we're taking more steps forward. We don't need to figure it all out at once, nor do we need to get it right the first time. Over time, however, we are making progress, and that is what matters.
