UDL Notebook: It’s Casual

My previous blog post discussed the importance of classroom environment when it comes to engaging and supporting students in UDL. I provided a multitude of examples of how I have tried to enhance the vibes in my classroom this year so that it could help, “minimize threats and distractions, foster collaboration and community, and facilitate personal coping skills and strategies,” for my students. In this post, I will discuss one of my favorite new strategies for making use of this space and helping students learn the crucial communication skills they need to be successful UDL participants. I call this strategy “Casual Conversation,” which is a very literal, unimaginative name for it.

Readers of my two previous UDL blog posts are likely tired of me citing entire paragraphs from the Engagement portion of the UDL Progression Rubric in order to support my assertions, so I am going to try to refrain from doing that wherever possible. I will leave it to you to decide if you would like to review it before proceeding, but I can tell you that there are many instances throughout the rubric in which students are expected to confidently and respectfully express themselves to both their peers and their teacher. As I discussed in my previous post, I feel that a first step to properly behaving and communicating in a classroom environment is to practice doing these things in less formal settings. If a student is incapable of holding a polite, casual conversation with a friend or classmate, what hope do they have of participating in something as formal, structured, and academic as a Socratic Seminar or Literature Circle?

As parents, my wife and I are able to ensure that our children are given ample opportunities to participate in conversations with a wide variety of interlocutors around the dinner table, on car rides, at family get-togethers, and during play dates. Frequently, we either participate in these conversations directly or surreptitiously eavesdrop on them (Don’t pretend you’ve never done this, my fellow parents!). Either way, we use these opportunities to provide our kids with feedback about the strengths and weaknesses of their respective conversation skills. Intentionally or otherwise, we also model what polite conversations look like on a regular basis (I mean, I hope we do…usually). All of these considerations led me to an obvious question: How could I curate similar experiences for my students in class? Here are some things that occurred to me as I began to formulate an answer to this:

• I would want my students to practice their conversation skills with a wide variety of peers (By the way, this is actually an advantage that all teachers have over parents: the potential partner combinations are seemingly endless!). I could have each student spend a solid week partnering with every other student in the class. This would mean that, eventually, every student would have spent quality time getting to know every one of their classmates. This would certainly foster a more positive, friendly, and safe classroom environment in which kids would be comfortable working with just about anyone in their class. 

Display of weekly partners from a Google Slide presentation

• I would want there to be a focus on learning to sustain friendly conversations with peers with whom students would not usually choose to converse regularly. A big emphasis should be put on having a positive attitude when discovering who they are being partnered with and finding ways to be empathetic and kind towards even their least favorite fellow students. I would also like them to learn to find at least one connection to each of their classmates.  

• I would like to teach conversation skills explicitly but in a low-stakes environment. A quick mini-lesson (perhaps in the form of a video) on a specific skill before the casual conversations begin should do the trick. I could cycle through the same 10-15 skills every 2 or 3 weeks, and the students should be allowed to decide whether they would like to deliberately focus on the daily skill (perhaps it’s already a strength of theirs and they’d prefer to focus on something else). 

• Skills can include things like: taking turns speaking, active listening, reading facial expressions, keeping personal space, staying on topic, asking questions, and making comments.

I have found some wonderful YouTube videos on conversation skills, including this one on Active Listening.

• Partners should be allowed to sit together wherever they want; this is an opportunity for them to use the cushions, blankets, and other alternative seating discussed in my previous blog post.

• Some chill music should play quietly in the background (like in a café!).

• A daily Google Slide with the skill lesson and other suggestions can be displayed on the Smartboard while the kids chat. A reminder can be posted on the slide to start their Casual Conversations with a friendly greeting and a quick SEL-style check-in to see how their partners are feeling. A list of suggested icebreakers can also be posted, but kids should understand that the icebreakers are only there to support them if they are struggling to generate their own topics of conversation. Additionally, prompts for the kids to show appreciation to their partners and end the conversation with a friendly salutation can be included. 

Prompts remind students to greet each other, check in, show appreciation, and end the conversation with a friendly salutation. There are also some Ice Breakers borrowed from our district’s SEL Toolkit.

As you can see, a strategy that seemed almost comically simple when I first conceived of  it ended up being far more complex and nuanced than I could have imagined, but it is not an exaggeration to say that it was an obvious success from the moment we first tried it. I was shocked at how quickly my kids embraced Casual Conversation, and their feedback was immediately positive. They now get quite frustrated with me when I do not manage to fit it into our schedule, and this is probably the most meaningful way in which it contributes to the larger goal of improved engagement: It is something my kids look forward to every day, and we all need more of that in our lives!

Writing Every Day,

Eric Lovein

UDL Notebook: Café Vibes

My previous blog post provided a brief overview of UDL and discussed why Engagement is the logical first step in developing a UDL classroom. Using the UDL Progression Rubric, I described the characteristics of a successful UDL student, and I briefly mentioned the fact that I have tried to make my classroom a more enjoyable, relaxing place to learn. In this post, I will elaborate on how I have done that and what I still hope to improve about my students’ learning environment in the near future.

The first thing you should know is that, before this school year, my classroom was an incredibly underwhelming place to visit. I’ve always been a, “It’s not about where we are learning but what we are learning,” kind of guy. If I’m honest with myself, I simply didn’t have a lot of confidence in my decorating skills, nor was I overly-motivated to improve them. After reading through the Progression Rubric’s descriptions and examples of what it means for a student to be truly engaged in the UDL sense, I realized that my classroom needed a major facelift. Using several  of the Engagement standards as a guide, I tried to envision what a classroom that could minimize threats and distractions (7.3), foster collaboration and community (8.3), and facilitate personal coping skills and strategies (9.2) would look like. The below graphic shows the Emerging, Proficient, and Progressing Toward Expert Practice levels of each of the three standards I have deemed most relevant to my classroom environment. Unlike with some rubrics, each of these levels is worth a gander. Even the Emerging level descriptions have some great suggestions for getting started.

After absorbing the information in these standards, I settled on the idea of creating a café vibe. The rabbit-hole thinking that led me to this decision went something like this: 

1. I eventually want my students to become self-knowing, self-sufficient, self-disciplined, self-guided, and self-motivated learners. This seems like a pretty ambitious goal.

2. To the extent that my own children at home possess these capacities, I feel like they developed a lot of them outside of the classroom. Visits to parks, gardens, museums, beaches, restaurants, libraries, forests, and theaters have provided my wife and me with ample opportunities to teach our kids to explore their curiosities and interests, advocate for themselves and take chances, and learn to act responsibly in a variety of social contexts.

3. While I cannot take my 30 students to these sorts of places on a regular basis, perhaps I can, to some extent, replicate the most important aspects of these experiences for them while they are at school. 

4. By “the most important aspects,” I mean the parts where they are: directly taught how to get the most out of each experience while allowing others to do the same, being given ample opportunities to practice these skills, and consistently reflecting on their successes and failures.

5. Building on the theme of social contexts, here are some of my initial ideas:

1. I could have a recurring activity called “In the Restaurant” in which I teach a mini-lesson on restaurant etiquette, table manners, or appropriate topics for discussion while eating. The kids could then eat lunch in my classroom at tables done up to look like restaurant tables. Students could then be instructed to practice any skills that have been taught in said mini-lessons, perhaps with parent volunteers acting as hosts/hostesses and waiters/waitresses.

2. Similarly we could have an SEL-related activity called “In the Café.” Kids could sit in comfortable spaces around the room, sipping beverages (perhaps served up by parent volunteers), and having casual conversations with predesignated partners after a mini-lesson on conversation skills. Note: A version of this idea has evolved into an activity called “Casual Conversations”—much more on this later (mostly in my next blog post). 

6. The thinking behind UDL originated in architecture—the idea being that the built environment should work for everyone. Therefore, it is incumbent upon me to make my classroom as comfortable and functional as possible. This should include flexible seating and spaces to accommodate a wide range of activities, discussions, and projects. I am picturing something like the shared work area of a hipster tech company designed to allow people and ideas to flow freely while some cool music plays quietly in the background. Words like “cozy,” “chill,” “warm,” “welcoming,” “fun,” and “stimulating” all spring to mind.

7. I want my kids talking to each other (and me!) constantly in a wide variety of structures and contexts. These should include, but not be limited to: Kagan structures, Literature Circles, Philosophical Chairs, Socratic Seminars, Casual Conversations, group projects, and student/teacher conferences. Some of these structures will require tables (Kagan team activities and group projects), while many others will require open floor space and cushions, pillows, blankets and other flexible seating options. This will be particularly important if I expect my students to, “construct their own groups and create their own group norms, responsibilities, etc. and students often seek out and work with diverse partners.”

I am still a bit self-conscious about my room’s appearance, mostly because I have no confidence in my design sense, but there is no denying that it looks a heck of a lot better than it has at any time in the last dozen years (not a high bar to clear). Here are some of the positive changes I have made on a budget (See the accompanying photos for visual proof):

• I ripped down my decades-old “fadeless” paper and replaced it with spanking new brick and wood designs that evoke a reclaimed space in DTLA.

• I bought fake plants of various shapes and sizes and used them to green up my classroom environment.

• I repurposed my cubby holes to serve as yoga studio-style storage spaces for my kids’ cushions and blankets—used for sitting comfortably on the floor during old-school read alouds, Casual Conversations, and collaborative learning.

• I bought/requisitioned a variety of chairs and stools that kids can use in the aforementioned contexts. 

• I replaced my old, faded, sad-looking informational posters with fresh ones. I have always prioritized information when it comes to wall decor, and I think UDL makes this more important than ever; if I want my kids working independently or on group projects based on personal interests, I still need them to work within the meta-cognitive guidelines I have set forth. For instance, If I am teaching you how to Report Information by Comparing and Contrasting in Social Studies by writing about a self-selected topic, I am still going to expect you to use the resources around my classroom on things like Double Bubble Maps, Sourcing, Contextualization, and Corroboration (See below photos for examples).

Fresh paper, college signs and Kagan mats, fresh informational posters 

Large open space for bringing kids to carpet or allowing them to stretch out while having Casual Conversations or participating in Kagan structures, cubbies with cushions and blankets, plants for touches of green

Here are some further ideas for my classroom upgrade that I hope to incorporate in the near future:

• Continue to add more cozy seating options, including a sofa if possible. Coffee and side tables would also be cool.

• Add a rack or shelving in my sink area where each student can keep a mug for beverages.

The UDL Progression Rubric has certainly convinced me that enhancing my classroom environment is a key to improving student engagement. In my next post, I will discuss one of my early engagement successes: Casual Conversation.

Writing Every Day,

Eric Lovein

Gradually Learning to Let Go, Part 2

My journey into the complexities of the gradual release framework continues. I specifically chose to use the term "complexities" because it is defined as "a factor involved in a complicated process or situation." This perfectly captures the complex process we educators undergo as we plan how and when to let students begin assuming control of their own learning. 

We want to empower and challenge our students with rigorous and meaningful work, yet at the same time, we have to be careful not to frustrate them by releasing too much too soon. It's a fine balance that brings to mind Lev Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, which is defined as "the space between what a learner can do without assistance and what a learner can do with adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers." 

The key is to have a deep knowledge of where our students are academically. There are several ways to ascertain that information, such as anecdotal notes taken during instruction, formative assessment results, and exit tickets, to name just a few. In our district, we are fortunate to have iReady to help us track students' progress (i.e. lessons passed) and needs on a monthly, weekly, and even daily basis. These are but a few of the ways we can collect information about our student's academic needs, which can range anywhere from filling in academic gaps to challenging students. The information we gain will enable us to determine at what point students are ready to be more independent. 

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I read Better Learning Through Structured Teaching by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey to build my knowledge of gradual release. My logical next step was to try out my newly acquired knowledge with my own students. I began the process yesterday during my students' writing block. To be honest, it wasn't comfortable. I expected and even embraced those uncomfortable feelings. I was challenged, but not frustrated. (I explained to my students that it's common to experience a range of emotions when learning new material.) There was a palpable tension in the air as I was gradually letting go and encouraging students to work more independently. Note that I said, "more independently." You can't just throw students into the cold, deep water; you need to ensure that students know how to swim. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see students willingly grapple through the writing process. They reached out to one another for support as they struggled to craft sentences and spell words correctly. They read their writing to one another to obtain a second opinion. A handful of students even asked if they could start over because it wasn't their best work. I'm learning a lot. I'm learning how to gradually let go.

Still Loving Every Minute,

Lola E. Jollie