The Schenley Experiment: A Social History of Pittsburgh’s First Public High School

Jake Oresick, The Schenley Experiment: A Social History of Pittsburgh’s First Public High School. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2017. 222 pp. ISBN 978-0-271-07833-5. $19.95 (paperback)

Feedback as a Connector in Remote Learning Environments

In March, Michigan educators unexpectedly found themselves rethinking instruction. As schools throughout the state were shuttered due to the COVID-19 health crisis, educators at every level needed to consider ways to sustain relationships with students in an effort to move learning forward. Feedback has always served as a natural connector between teachers and their students, but students’ use of feedback is based upon trust. This article examines the importance of formative assessment and the feedback cycle while exploring ways to deliver feedback in remote settings. By prioritizing the student-teacher relationship, teachers foster students’ active engagement with feedback, thereby raising students’ confidence, persistence, and performance

Humanizing Feedback: Responsive Feedback Practices that Value Student Identity and Build Feedback Literacy

Providing effective feedback is an iterative process. It requires teachers to intentionally build caring classroom relationships that center students and their individual needs. Similarly, students need to have a safe and supportive environment so that they can use feedback to improve their work. This article aims to provide practitioners with strategies for humanizing the feedback process and improving students’ feedback literacy in ways that honor their identities and funds of knowledge

Essential Practices for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction in Secondary Classrooms

In response to the call for increased literacy and more equitable learning opportunities across the state of Michigan, the 6-12 Disciplinary Literacy Task Force formed. The group’s first charge was to revise and publish the Essential Practices for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction in the Secondary Classroom: Grades 6 to 12, based on the work of lead researchers from the University of Michigan, Drs. Elizabeth Moje and Darin Stockdill. During the 2019-2020 school year, education consultants and educators from around Michigan participated in the Regional One-Day Institute, which served as an introduction to the Essential Practices for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction in the Secondary Classroom. To keep the conversation (and learning) moving forward among secondary English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Career Tech, Visual/Performing Arts, and World Languages teachers, the Disciplinary Literacy Task Force is excited to offer the Deeper Dive Institute during the 2020-2021 school year

Teacher of Literature and Literacy: Rethinking Secondary English Language Arts

This article aims to explore the complexity of instruction in secondary English Language Arts (ELA) classes, addressing the role of teacher identity, educator preparation programs, equity and access, and the role of the Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy in the Secondary Classroom. We suggest that there is a possibility to attend to both teaching literature and literacy within middle- and high-school ELA classrooms and provide a vision for working toward this balance

Taking Up the Work: Snapshots of Disciplinary Literacy Instruction, Part I

This article is part of a series devoted to unpacking disciplinary literacy instructional practices for educators at all levels. Here, we explore the role of disciplinary literacy instruction at all levels, in light of recent changes to Michigan\u27s teacher certification grade bands. This article provides suggestions for getting started with addressing disciplinary literacy in instruction, as well as practical examples of what this might look like within English Language Arts classrooms

Lift Every (Student) Voice with the Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy

In this article, the authors make the case for re-engaging students in learning during the 2021-2022 school year by prioritizing social emotional learning and whole child principles, along with student voice and discourse. The Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy in the Secondary Classroom: Grades 6 to 12 are one tool to define instructional practices that align to these efforts