Research, Reads and Recommendations

Dear MRSD Learning Community:

Grateful to be a SHARK:

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I took some time this weekend to sit back and reflect on all the great things that I experienced last week and wanted to share how grateful I am to again be a part of the Monomoy learning community! In each building, it was evident that relationship-building was the priority last week. It was also clear that students were excited to be back with all of you. The high-fives off the busses, the goal setting posters created in grade 5, the beautiful, sparkly clean hallways, the classroom norm building-activities seen throughout the buildings, the choral practice for the 9/11 event in the HS hallway, the students and caregivers coming from their Kindergarten meetings at the elementary schools-each event signaled that the goals last week were to reignite the vibrant, student-centered cultures that have deep roots throughout the district. Director Parker (ELA/Humanities, 5-12), Director Varella (STEM, 5-12, and I are grateful for all of your hard work and efforts, especially in the extreme temperatures, to make this first week of the year so very special for each our our students.

About the 3Rs Newsletter:

Each month, I plan to send out a brief newsletter updating our learning community on events, celebrations in learning, and connections to literature, articles, and research. I have been writing a similar newsletter for many years, and now in my new role as your Director of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction, I hope that you will also find the editions helpful places to find professional resources, instructional ideas, and capacity building. Although the editions will mostly be related to learning and instruction, at times, I have also been known to share recommendations for "pleasure" reads, great hiking trails, or wonderful restaurants in some editions.

In addition, I love to share what others share with me. So I invite you to send me articles or literature that you think others may enjoy/learn from, research that you have found or conducted yourself, and celebrations of from your spaces of learning. A great restaurant, Cape Cod experience, or recipe recommendation is always also welcome.

I am looking forward to publishing this newsletter every month, and I hope it both reaffirms your beliefs in effective practices, and also at times, stretches your thinking to try something new, to move beyond your comfort zone, in order to collectively build a wide-ranging repertoire of pedagogical practices that facilitate deep, engaging, and equitable learning for our students. I also hope this newsletter provides an opportunity for us to have many community dialogues on the ways that we may ensure that all children achieve at high-levels at Monomoy while building and mastery the skills and competencies outlined in the MRSD Portrait of A Graduate. Of course, each edition and the postings found within are not mandatory reads, simply optional and offered as a resource.

Please feel free to email or give me a call at any time if something you find within these articles strikes a cord (positive or negative), or if you want to engage in a community read/book discussion with a title, share ideas, or make suggestions. And don't forget those restaurant recommendations!

And again, have a great start to the school year. You've got this!

~Robin

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is an essential read for all creative minds.

This bestselling classic from the legendary creative psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, holds the key to unlocking meaning, creativity, peak performance, and true happiness. Flow is an essential ingredient to a creative and happy lifestyle, and although it can feel magical when experiencing it, there’s a science to triggering that can help you discover true happiness, unlock your potential, and greatly improve the quality of your life.

During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and total involvement with life. In this new edition, Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates the ways this positive state can be controlled, not just left to chance. Learn how, by ordering the information that enters our consciousness, we can discover true happiness, unlock our potential, and greatly improve the quality of our lives. (Review from creativeenso.com)

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society.

In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts—from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, impeccably researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves. (Summary from Amazon)

A bold, brain based teaching approach to culturally responsive instruction

To close the achievement gap, diverse classrooms need a proven framework for optimizing student engagement. Culturally responsive instruction has shown promise, but many teachers have struggled with its implementation―until now.

In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain compatible culturally responsive instruction.

The book includes:

• Information on how one’s culture programs the brain to process data and affects learning relationships

• Ten "key moves" to build students’ learner operating systems and prepare them to become independent learners

• Prompts for action and valuable self reflection

Posts and Podcasts with Zaretta Hammond from Dr. Hammond, on her website:

Books are good, but sometimes you want your knowledge in bite-sized doses. That’s what I like to deliver: consumable, usable, and entertaining food for thought (and action). Here are some of the most popular blog posts and guest podcast interviews to sample.

• Interview on Cult of Pedagogy

• Interview on Transformative Principal

• Interview on The Teaching Channel

Student Goal Setting: An Evidence Based Practice, Midwest Comprehensive at American Institutes for Research

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED589978.pdf

Student Goal Setting The act of goal setting is a desired competency area for students associated with the “learning-to-learn” skills students need to engage in deeper learning (William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, 2013). The act of goal setting, therefore, is a practice that educators can use to help fuel students’ learning-to-learn skills, such as a sense of agency, intrinsic motivation, and capacity to manage their own learning. As an educational practice, teachers interested in promoting learning-to-learn skills ask students to engage in goal setting within group advisories, during one-to-one advising sessions, and as an integral component of the students’ personalized learning plans. Expanding State and Local Lists of

Evidence-Based Practices

Schools that are interested in promoting student agency, intrinsic motivation, and other self-management skills may want to consider the evidence base for the array of strategies and structures associated with a focus on these intrapersonal skills. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 (2015) (ESEA Section 8101(21)(A))1 allows states to take a lead role in identifying suitable evidence-based practices. As outlined in Table 1, the U.S. Department of Education has established four levels to denote the strength of the evidence base for a particular intervention, educational strategy, or practice (U.S. Department of Education, 2016).

[To continue article: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED589978.pdf ]

Done Testing? Now What?

• Discover why student-led goal setting can be a powerful motivator toward academic success. Watch now!

• Student goal-setting template

• Student goal-setting template (primary grades)

• Download our goal-setting infographic for best practices and strategies for setting effective goals with your students.

Save the Date:

Webinar: Supercharge Math Confidence (for teachers and students) 9.27 at 1PM EST Register Here

As our new district curriculum team continues to engage in our initial "listening and learning" entry plan, Director Parker, Director Varella, and I would love to hear your thoughts. Our first objective of this entry plan is to continue to learn how we may be of the best support for all during the 23-24 school year and beyond. We are here to be of service to your teams so please remember to also keep communication open throughout the year so call, stop by our offices at the middle school, or email at anytime. Our door is always open and we welcome thoughts, questions, and ideas.

If you would like to schedule a 1:1 or department/team meeting with one or more of us, please fill out this quick form: Meet with MRSD Curriculum Director Team. We will confirm availability and send invites for a meeting.

Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit. – e. e. cummings