How Study Groups Are Like Self-Cleaning Ovens
Jennifer Allen and Brenda Power
One of our favorite inventions ever is the self-cleaning oven. Set a timer, lock the oven door, and a few hours later - voila! You have a clean oven, and can feel virtuous about it, even though it required almost no effort on your part.
Study groups can be like self-cleaning ovens - put a few key elements in place, and they can almost run themselves. We used to spend hours looking for the perfect activity or icebreaker for groups, but over time we've found that a standard format with regular components works best for us. Teachers who come to the group know what to expect. It's not that they aren't exposed to new things, but it's all within a structure that invites comfort and reflection. Here are the components of our study groups that help make the groups feel like they are running themselves:
Meet for One Hour
We've tried longer and shorter formats, and one hour is just right for not requiring too much of a commitment from teachers, but still allowing for in-depth exploration of a topic. We provide the schedule months in advance, so that everyone can plan appointments and activities around the study group meeting.
Provide Discussion Time at the Start
We like to focus the group at the start with a couple questions related to the study group topic, or just open it up for discussion about what everyone has tried related to the theme since the last group meeting. This is a transition time - we can sense everyone relaxing and switching gears from their classrooms to the study group topic.
View Videos
We've found that many teachers will not read professional books. We can lament over all the reasons why some teachers don't enjoy professional reading, but the point is we can't be certain teachers will read books we give them outside of the study groups. For this reason, we always include short video snippets so that we have a shared experience with professional best practice.
We've found it's important to watch no more than a 5-10 minute segment of a video during a study group - there is so much going on in each minute of a classroom video, that more than a few minutes is overload in a professional setting. We watch one lesson, or one conference with a student, and focus the viewing with a notetaking task. For example, if the video was of a lesson, we might have participants keep two-column notes, with one column labeled "What I Notice" and the other labeled "What I Might Try in My Classroom."
For more on two column notes, you can look at this eGuide:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/189.cfm
We use videos from Choice Literacy, Stenhouse Publishers, Heinemann, and the Annenberg Foundation - they are all excellent sources of professional video featuring authentic classroom examples of reading and writing workshops.
Include Reading Time
Because many teachers are hesitant about reading professional books, we've found providing reading time during study groups is essential. We photocopy a brief article, a short excerpt from a book, or highlight a few pages within the book we've purchased for the group to read throughout the year, and include five to ten minutes of silent reading time. Even participants who have read the excerpt recently appreciate the time to dig in and reread, and have a chance to discuss the reading with their colleagues while it is still fresh.
We've found many of the short essays at Choice Literacy are an excellent length for use in study groups - we have one focus essay on a topic, and provide a second or third for those participants who read faster than their colleagues to have in hand.
Whole Group Discussion
We always close the study group with some whole class discussion of what was learned, and what participants plan to try out in their classrooms before the next session. We also make plans for the next session with the group. For example, if we are working our way through a book together, we talk about reading for the next session. We discuss what video segment it makes sense to view at the next session, based on what worked and what didn't with today's video. We always end each study group on time. Participants are welcome to stay after the group and chat, but those on tight family schedules need to know they can depend upon us running a tight ship.
A Typical Study Group With these elements in place, our study groups look remarkably similar from group to group, though the content and group dynamics vary greatly. Here are sample schedules from different study groups at different grade levels, to give you a sense of how the format works:
Sample One-Hour Format: Study Group on Literacy Instruction for Young English Language Learners
Whole Group Discussion (10 Minutes)
- What went well in a conference you had with an English language learner this week?
- What are you struggling with in your conferences?
- What else is on your mind about working with English language learners?
Reading (15 - 20 Minutes)
"Understanding the Silent Period" Andie Cunningham and Ruth Shagoury (Choice Literacy website)
[Bonus Reading: "Conferring with Young English Language Learners" (Choice Literacy website)
OR a 2-3 page excerpt from Focus Book: Starting with Comprehension (Andie Cunningham and Ruth Shagoury, Stenhouse Publishers).]
Discuss in small groups or all together experiences with the "silent period."
Video (15 - 20 Minutes)
View conferences with Vita and Larisa (two students in the silent period) from Write from the Start: Conferring with Young English Language Learners
(Choice Literacy, 2006). Before viewing, ask participants to take notes on all the nonverbal cues given by each child to their teacher. After viewing, discuss the cues.
Next Steps (10-15 Minutes)
Discuss what strategies participants have learned for working with students in the silent period, and what else they might try in their classroom. Make plans for the next workshop - what other issues are emerging in conferences with young English language learners? What readings and video might be helpful at the next study group meeting linked to these issues?
Sample One-Hour Format: Study Group on Overcoming the 4th Grade Slump and 8th Grade Cliff
Whole-Group Discussion (10 Minutes)
What similarities are there between 4th and 8th graders? What are key differences? How can teachers at these different grade levels learn to talk with each other more? Reading (15 - 20 Minutes)
Read pages 64-68 "Thinking Through Grouping" from Focus Book: Still Learning to Read (Franki Sibberson and Karen Szymusiak, Stenhouse Publishers). Talk about how different participants design reading groups, and what their role is in the groups.
Video (15 - 20 minutes)
View two small groups of 5th grade readers from the video series, Bringing Reading to Life (Stenhouse, 2004).
Before viewing, ask participants to take notes on all the questions students ask in the groups. What do the questions show about how students have been prepared for these groups by their teachers?
Next Steps (10-15 Minutes)
Discuss what strategies participants have for helping students take more of an active, independent role in reading groups. What might they try, based on what they read, viewed, or discussed today? Skim through the book and select a focus for the next session, and talk through which video topics might be most helpful.
In both of these examples, you'll see the group depends upon us to know the resource base. If a topic comes up that isn't addressed in the book or article set the group is reading (or is better addressed in another book or article), we offer to bring that to the next session. We've previewed the entire video series, so we can make suggestions about what selections might best address the interests emerging in the group.
Yet our role is also blissfully limited in these groups - everyone knows they will have a comfortable place to share their classroom triumphs and struggles, so many participants quickly learn to bring a funny story, or inspiring student sample, or baffling dilemma to share with the group. They expect the routines of video viewing, reading, and discussion each week, moving easily between jotting notes and chatting.
Because the format is predictable, the learning that emerges over time is rich. The last session of a study group each year is like that wonderful moment when we open our oven and wonder how it miraculously got so clean. While the self-cleaning oven may remain a bit of a mystery to us, we know the success of study groups is due to our belief that we need to let the community evolve over time. We provide a format and resources, and the learning over the year always exceeds our expectations and those of the participants.
You can view video excerpts from the launch of a study group for grades 3-5 teachers focused on writing instruction below. Jennifer is leading the group, and they have met about other topics in previous years:
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About
Jennifer Allen
