Another area that we’ve done a lot of work in is the language that we use when we talk to students about their work. I know I’ve referenced it before, but many years ago we read the book, Choice Words by Peter Johnston where he gives examples of how teacher language can either help or hinder a student’s progress as a learner. Even though this book (his first) came out back in 2003, it is so timely today and is referenced by so many authors including Zaretta Hammond. It goes way beyond getting past the cliches of saying “good job” or “nice work.” It’s about challenging students to deepen their thinking by asking them probing questions or asking them to explain their thinking both verbally and in writing. It’s about shifting the responsibility to the student to do the analyzing, synthesizing, etc. This helps students see themselves as capable learners when their teacher has renamed them or given them an identity as partner, collaborator, researcher, etc. Of course, as Hammond explains, it has to be coupled with a caring and positive relationship or being a “warm demander.” This reduces stress and allows students to take risks. This was reinforced by the chapter on stress in John Medina’s book, Brain Rules. Although we've had ongoing professional conversations and learning in this area, it continues to be something we have to keep working on. As teachers, we tend to go back to more traditional methods unless we are very intentional about our language with students especially during times of stress like we have all experienced in the last year. Our staff is now studying Hammond’s work with culturally responsive teaching to help us make agreements as part of my action research project.
Similarly, we’ve found in the last year that technology can either aid our students confidence or it can contribute to their dependency. It all depends on how we use it as a tool for learning. For example, many of our teachers started using the Book Creator program after I was introduced to it last semester and eagerly shared it with them. What we discovered was that at first we saw students producing some highly creative books with cool graphics and visuals. We were really excited for this new way for them to represent their learning. However, as we looked closer at what they were producing, we found that we really needed to back up and review academic honesty and ask them to think deeper both about what they were perhaps taking from others and think critically about their sources as well. Used as a tool with good instruction from the teacher, it helped students use their voice in new ways. But on their own, it created a situation where they weren’t thinking for themselves but only mimicking the work of others. This was a helpful experience for us, as we evaluate what technology tools we will continue to use in our post-pandemic teaching and learning.