Project Developed by Erin Timmer and Mark Smith

Throughout the year, we have started to take a close look at what it means to provide meaningful and beneficial academic learning support to middle school students in an independent school. AFS is a school committed to creating opportunities for students to learn, grow and thrive in the classroom, and we know the value of creating a learning environment that both appropriately challenges and adequately supports students as they grapple with new ideas and concepts. Because classes are not, for the most part, tracked in the middle school, there is a tremendous range of talents and abilities within every classroom, so this fellowship is creating an opportunity for us to assess where we are effectively meeting students’ needs and where we still need support for both students and teachers.

We began the year by examining the most common learning challenges diagnosed in the Middle school. Then, we began to explore the most current pedagogical research on how students with those diagnoses best learn and visited schools to understand how they approach learning support. Over the course of the year we were able to begin to implement a program that allowed for push-in and pull-out learning support in classrooms where there was a demonstrated need. What we have found in our work this year is that this kind of learning support benefits everyone – students with a demonstrated need are getting more support in and out of the classroom to build these critical skills; students without a learning difference are learning different strategies that they will be able to use when something challenging comes up for them in a classroom; and teachers are shifting techniques and pedagogy to better meet the needs of all learners.

Project Developed by Terri Wiley

In one section of 10th-grade English, the 5th and 10th-grade students met biweekly from October through April. Students engaged in book groups and discussions. They also supported their buddies with various writing assignments. For the collaborative book buddies project, the 10s completed all stages of the writing process to publish a creatively written and polished ten-chapter book, which was informed by the characteristics, experiences, and interests of each buddy.  The final connection culminated with a book release party. During the celebratory event, the 10s organized, managed, and facilitated the hour-long event where students reflected on the process, celebrated one another, read excerpts of their books, and gifted a bookmark and their books to each 5th-grade reader.

This year, the partnerships and friendships were particularly meaningful and lasting because the 5th-grade teachers were intentional and thoughtful about every student, especially since they taught many of the upper school students when they were in grade five. Thus, the connections were genuine; many students exchanged emails throughout the year and hugs when they saw one another on campus. The collaborative Friday connections were often the bright moments in the week for many students. For example, when Elijah, John Garnevicus’s son, was gifted a new tablet, he was ecstatic to obtain Parker’s personal contact; and when there were a few busy, consecutive weeks in the Spring semester when events prevented the buddies from meeting, Elijah said that these weeks were rough, for he missed his buddy.

The ultimate goal of the cross-divisional collaboration is authentic and lasting friendship. Additionally, students see themselves as leaders, writers, readers, tutors, and partners in community. The relationships are reciprocal. When young people connect, magic happens, and true friendship happens.

Project Developed by Lisa Ammirati, Erin Bengtson, and the Upper School Math and Science Departments

The Math and Science departments in Upper School collaborated to incorporate “Thinking Classrooms” practices into their curriculum. These practices, outlined by Peter Liljedahl in his text Building Thinking Classrooms, transform classrooms from lecture-based, programmatic teaching to lively and active places.

Erin Bengtson: With the new practices I incorporated this year, I observed many positive changes in my classroom. One significant shift was in students’ ability and desire to collaborate. I always valued collaboration but didn’t quite make the connection that it’s hard to foster an environment of collaboration when students are sitting in rows. The furniture arrangement made a bigger difference than anticipated. Sitting in groups signaled to students that they would be working together, and they quickly became prepared to do so on a daily basis. My classrooms were no longer quiet places. Learning to work together at the board took time, effort, and consistent reminders about group work norms, but as the year progressed, I saw many students grow into expert collaborators – it is a skill that can be learned. Once they learned this skill, I spent much less time helping groups work through problems as they developed an understanding of how to apply previous knowledge to figure out new concepts. I’d also note that many students grew to love the whiteboard as a space to work out challenging problems. For many, the whiteboard is (1) an easier space to collaborate with other students, (2) a safer space to try things and make mistakes, and (3) a place where it was easier to get feedback (from the teacher and other students) about their work. Many students felt a different energy when working at the board.”

Lisa Ammirati: The pedagogical philosophies described in the book resonate very closely with my own approaches, so implementing these practices felt seamless at times. However, the impact of the BTC practices on my teaching was profound. While collaborative board work has been a big part of my teaching practice for many years, the adjustments BTC taught me had an outsized impact on students’ confidence and willingness to take risks. The simple act of switching from flat board surfaces to vertical surfaces instantly made student thinking visible to the entire group. Ideas were seeded by one group and quickly expanded upon by others. Additionally, students seemed more willing to try out a solution and invite the feedback of their peers.

I also made consistent use of a technique the author calls “thin-slicing”. In this technique, students are given one problem at a time to solve in their groups. Once the problem is solved, they are given the next problem, which is slightly more challenging in only one way or involves a new wrinkle that must be addressed. This technique led to two important shifts in classroom dynamics. First, students began to approach problems less algorithmically. Instead, I noted a shift towards a more holistic approach to problem solving where students considered how to piece together the tools they had and extrapolate from what they knew to solve a novel problem. Since solutions were student-generated and easily visible to all groups, students also began to understand that there is usually more than one way to solve the same problem. Additionally, I noted that students seemed less resistant to trying new things without prior instruction. While I used to teach problems-solving methods prior to presenting the associated problems, I found that students became more confident and self-reliant when they were asked to generate the solutions without prior instruction, then reflect on their techniques.

Building on the success from this past year, I’m eager to continue to deepen my practice and begin implementing the strategies that I have not yet undertaken. In particular, I’m hoping to upgrade my classroom furniture so students can more easily form collaborative groups.