Learning is Everywhere

This week I had the opportunity to conduct a walkthrough with Ms. Kazmierczak and witness your work.  The focus for our walkthrough was from your ownership look for, specifically," student work shows that students have taken responsibilty for their learning".

I know that Ms. K is going to share a wide range of examples of student work that met this look for, what I want to share with you is what I learned about you as a learning commuity from my visit.  

1- Wilson teachers value student voices.  
This was evident in the numberous displays that not only provided comments, but essentially rich feedback on what students did well and questions to help them keep thinking about what they learned. Your feedback communicates volumes about how much you value student work and the learning process.

2-Process matters as much as a product.
Numerous displays of student work outlined not only what students learned, but the processes it took to help students think deeply about the content. This communicates to me the high value you place on thinking. You are setting your students up to be learners, teaching them how to learn so they can be successful no matter what task they approach.

3-Models matter.
In many classrooms we saw models of what strong student work looks like.  Students can hit any target if they know what it is and these displays will certainly help students reach your targets. The inclusion of these models communicates that you value quality in student responses.

I know this is a difficult time of year with spring weather and end of the year rituals, but it was evident that at Wilson it is business as usual and that means focusing on instruction and valuing student work. From my observations it is clear that you will have a strong finish to this school year. Have a great summer.