8 with 8

We’re continuing this season’s exploration of educational practices that are mainstays in many schools - even though research may be saying it’s time to let them go. This week, we’re tackling a big one - behavior charts. You know... if you're having a good day, you're on green... if you've made some bad choices, you're on red. Different classrooms use different approaches, including colors, clips, etc., but they all work the same basic way: by publicly displaying the level of behavioral performance for each particular student in a class. Behavior charts have been used for decades as a means of displaying behavioral progress and adherence to classroom rules. BUT - does this practice actually work the way we think it does? How does this practice align to the PBIS framework so many of us are working to implement? And most importantly, can behavior charts, like some of our previously covered practices, actually backfire and cause more harm than good? 

Co-Hosts: SST8 Consultants Heidi Kerchenski and Mike Kaschak 

Additional Resources:

DITCH THE CLIP! Why Clip Charts Are Not a PBIS Practice and What to Do Instead (Article)

I Ditched My Behavior Chart (video, 11:45)

We’re continuing our exploration of educational practices that lack empirical support - yet continue to be mainstays in our profession. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to check out the book Why Are We Still Doing That? by Persida and William Himmele, which inspired this season’s focus. It’s a quick and thought-provoking read! One of the chapters focuses on formative assessment. Now, we definitely NOT saying that formative assessment is something we should turn our backs on - in fact, the authors of this book assert that the research on formative assessment suggests there is no better way to accelerate student growth. BUT there are some things we may do that SEEM like formative assessment, and in fact are not really all that helpful at all. Today we talk about what we can do to have a clear understanding of student success - and how to know with confidence when they have reached it. 

About Our Guest: Jarred Zapolnik is a middle school principal in Massillon City Schools, adjunct professor at Ashland University, and doctoral candidate in Education Leadership at Kent State.  He is also active in the conference circuit, presenting on leadership, depth of knowledge, culturally inclusive practices, and many other topics focused on improving the field of education. 

As we continue this season's focus on enduring educational practices that really don't have the research support we might think. Today, Mike Kaschak and Michelle Smith from SST8 have a quick but powerful conversation about recess and play time. Should we be taking it away from students when they misbehave? We know some educators consider this to be a tried and true consequence for challenging behavior - but take a listen for some great considerations about how this might backfire… and what we could be doing instead.

Co-Hosts: Michelle Smith and Mike Kaschak, SST8 Educational Consultants

Additional Resources:

Edutopia’s resource page on play & recess

Literacy has been one of the most talked-about aspects of education over the last few years, due to a statewide focus on the science of reading, several grant opportunities, and now the dyslexia legislation going into effect next school year. And now, as our podcast delves into ineffective teaching practices this season, we are thrilled to welcome Dr. Tim Shanahan to the podcast. Dr. Shanahan is a noted researcher, speaker, and thought leader on all things literacy, and he has been a partner with the Ohio Department of Education for the last several years, as we have developed and implemented Ohio’s Plan to Raise Literacy Achievement. Today, Dr. Shanahan talks with SST8’s Sarah Egan-Reeves and gives us a lot to think about in terms of how we design literacy instruction - really, this is a master class on literacy from one of our favorite gurus. We can’t wait for you to hear all that he has to share.

Co-Host: Sarah Egan-Reeves, SST8 Educational Consultant

About Our Guest:

Dr. Timothy Shanahan is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chi­cago where he was Founding Di­rector of the UIC Center for Literacy. Previously, he was director of reading for the Chicago Public Schools. He is author/editor of more than 200 publications on literacy education, and research emphasizes the connections between reading and writing, literacy in the disciplines, and improvement of reading achievement. Tim is past president of the International Literacy Association. He served as a member of the Advisory Board of the National Institute for Literacy under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and he helped lead the National Reading Panel, convened at the request of Congress to evaluate research on the teaching reading, a major influence on reading education. He chaired two other federal research review panels: the National Literacy Panel for Language Minority Children and Youth, and the National Early Literacy Panel, and helped write the Common Core State Standards. He was inducted to the Reading Hall of Fame in 2007, and is a former first-grade teacher.

Additional Resources:

Shanahanonliteracy.com | Dr. Shanahan's website and blog

Why Children Should Be Taught to Read With More Challenging Texts (Article, 2019)

What Constitutes a Science of Reading Instruction? (Article, 2020)

Disciplinary Literacy in Elementary Education: Video | Slides (presentation at Ohio Literacy Academy, 2020)

Welcome back to this season’s discussion about some of the “sticky” practices in our profession that have persisted, despite lack of research evidence. Today’s topic is a very polarizing one: retention. Education researcher John Hattie has been quoted as saying, “No single intervention by schools is worse than retention.” That’s a pretty serious condemnation! Yet it continues to be something that schools consider when students are encountering serious learning struggles.

In today’s episode, SST8’s Frank Gant talks with Lisa Shannon, the Director of Special Services for the Lake Local School District in Stark Co.  Throughout her career in northeast Ohio, she has had numerous opportunities to discuss retention with educators and families - starting first as a co-teacher in her district’s first co-teaching team, then as an assistant principal, assistant superintendent, and director of special services. Lisa and Frank will consider why we have retained retention as a routine educational practice, and what alternatives can be explored. They close out this episode with 8 critical factors for educators and families to consider when having a conversation about retention. Be sure to listen to the whole episode to under why these are so critical! 

Co-Host: Frank Gant, SST8 Educational Consultant

About Our Guest: Lisa Shannon is the Director of Special Services for the Lake Local School District in Stark Co. She has served students with exceptionalities for the majority of her career, with more than twenty years of leadership experience in Ohio’s public schools.  Lisa started her career as the general education teaching counterpart of her district’s first co-teaching team where she provided specially designed instruction alongside an intervention specialist.  She later moved into building and district leadership roles working in positions ranging between Assistant Principal to Assistant Superintendent.  Lisa states that her greatest professional fulfillment is supporting thousands of students, staff, and families and watching children grow by leaps and bounds by maximizing their various and unique strengths. 

Additional Resources

Alternatives to Grade Retention (article) | AASA: The School Superintendents Association

Retention (book excerpt) | Hattie, J. (2008). Visible learning. Routledge.

This season, we are diving into the research to practice gap, exploring why it is that ineffective teaching practices continue to hang on despite growing evidence that it’s time to let them go. We are so excited to welcome to the podcast Dr. Judy Willis - a board-certified neurologist who made a dramatic switch into classroom teaching, where she taught in elementary middle school for 10 years. Today we talk with Dr. Willis about about common misconceptions about learning, including teaching to learning styles, and ways to promote use of research-based practices among educators.  

Co-Host: Sarah Egan-Reeves, SST8 Educational Consultant

About Our Guest: Dr. Willis is an expert on learning and the brain, has served on the adjunct faculty of the University of California Santa Barbara Graduate School of Education, and travels nationally and internationally giving presentations, workshops, and consulting. She recently revised and expanded her 2006 book, Research Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning, in which she helps educators understand how to select teaching strategies based on how the brain works and learns best. She shares many great resources on her website, RADteach.com, and an article we love called The High Cost of Neuromyths in Education. 

8 with 8 is back with a sixth season! This time, we are taking a really different approach and focusing on a range of educational practices all with one common theme: they LACK research support. Why is it that ineffective instructional practices continue to be used in schools, when we have ample research showing us that they don’t work - or even do harm? We landed on this topic after reading a 2021 book by Persida and William Himmele, Why Are We Still Doing That? Positive Alternatives to Problematic Teaching Practices. The authors focus on 16 problematic practices, including round robin reading, assigning homework as a default, rigidly adhering to pacing guides, shortchanging science and social studies, and using behavior charts. This season, we’ll dive into some of these practices by exploring the research around them and the alternatives that can help us reach our goals for students. We hope to support the work of dedicated professional educators as they reflect on their craft. Share these episodes with your educator colleagues and friends, or use them at internal staff meetings and PDs to provoke some necessary conversations about how to evolve teaching practices.

Get ready for Why Are We Still Doing That? Coming to your favorite podcast app or the Anchor website, starting this Friday, April 8th.

It's a bonus episode! We're following up on our 8 Great Literacy Learnings season because we know that here in Ohio, dyslexia is on the minds of many, many educators these days. Our new dyslexia support laws establish a variety of requirements for screening, professional development, certification to provide multi-sensory structured literacy instruction, and the Ohio Dyslexia Committee. There is so much to learn right now - both about dyslexia and about the requirements associated with this bill. Today, we want to focus on dyslexia itself: what it is, what it isn’t, and what’s most critical to understand as we move forward with the new legislative and policy requirements. We're talking with Dr. Sarah Sayko, Deputy Director of the National Center on Improving Literacy, and today she joins SST8 literacy leads  to answer 8 FAQs regarding dyslexia.

Co-Hosts: Pam Kennedy and Kim Nagy, SST8 literacy leads

About our Guest:

Sarah Sayko, Ed.D., is a Deputy Director of National Center on Improving Literacy, and leads the Parent and Family Strand of the center.  She is a Senior Research Associate at RMC Research Corporation in Arlington, VA. Sarah was previously a literacy content specialist with the Center on Instruction (COI) and a technical assistance provider with the National Reading Technical Assistance Center (NRTAC).  She was an elementary reading coach and literacy specialist in two Massachusetts public school districts and is a certified K-12 reading specialist.

Additional Resources

National Center on Improving Literacy: Improving Literacy Briefs

International Dyslexia Association  

We’re wrapping up our season called 8 Great Literacy Learnings, and today we want to step back from the specific frameworks, strategies, and research on teaching kids how to read and instead, lean into considerations for how to make our literacy instruction more equitable and accessible for all. Listen as some of our SST8 literacy team members share some great ways to ensure that our literacy instruction efforts are truly reaching and benefitting all learners.

Co-Hosts: Kim Nagy, SST8 Urban Literacy Specialist and Heidi Kerchenski, SST8 Educational Consultant

Additional Resources:

10 Ways Educators Can Take Action in Pursuit of Equity by Jennifer Gonzalez 

20 Ways to Bring More Equity to Your Literacy Instruction by Lindsay Barrett

Literacy instruction does not end in the elementary grades! It is still very much a need for our adolescent learners - but it can be hard to figure out how best to integrate that with all of the other content area instruction that secondary education demands. Well, if you are looking for ways to break down the barriers of Adolescent Literacy, you are in the right place. Today, we are joined by Roger Howard, one of Ohio's Adolescent Literacy leads and also a consultant at the ESC of NE Ohio. He has a rich history of high school and curriculum leadership, and was named 2011 Met Life Ohio Principal of the Year.  In his conversation with SST8 literacy team members, Kim Nagy and Sarah Egan-Reeves, Roger will discuss 8 common barriers to adolescent literacy, along with the research that supports how districts and teachers can make meaningful shifts that will yield noticeable results.

Co-hosts: Kim Nagy, SST8 Urban Literacy Specialist, and Sarah Egan-Reeves, SST8 Educational Consultant

About Our Guest: Roger Howard is an Adolescent Specialist–ODE Literacy Network for State Support Team - Region 3 at the Educational Service Center (ESC) of Northeast Ohio. Roger began his career as a residential treatment counselor at Parmadale/St. Anthony before serving 10 years as a teacher and coach at Tallmadge High School. He then dedicated the majority of his career to serving as a building administrator in multiple secondary schools: Tallmadge Middle School, Solon High School, Chagrin Falls High School, Hudson High School, Stow-Munroe Falls High School, and Independence High School. Roger was selected as the 2011 Met Life Ohio High School Principal of the Year and served two terms on the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators Board of Directors. Roger also performed multiple central office responsibilities for six years as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Independence Local Schools.

Additional Resources

Literacy Lessons Learned (article) - Mel Riddile

LIteracy Lessons Learned (webinar, 1 hour) - Mel Riddile

IES Practice Guide: Adolescent Literacy