Craft & Draft

Several of the Craft and Draft listeners have requested more information regarding how to set-up the Craft and Draft Notebook System

They begin with the first page of the Craft Book. Jacob shares how he has his students organize their Craft Book from the table of contents to the individual mini-lessons, and includes how students set goals. Pam discusses how each element enables the teacher to monitor student growth.

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Thank you again for your support!

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Welcome to Craft & Draft, where we explore the art of teaching and the science of learning. In today’s episode, hosts Pam Ochoa and Jacob Chastain continue their summer book study of “The Knowledge Gap” by Natalie Wexler.

Jacob and Pam as they share their final thoughts about the book, The Knowledge Gap.  They each share how this book has highlighted some real issues in American education.  Pam shared her take on how the book addresses writing and what she thinks should be implemented in classrooms.  Jacob discusses why he thinks a predetermined core of knowledge may not be the best solutions for future schools.

Join Jacob and Pam as they complete the discussion on the book as well as some other workshop thoughts!

If you want to hear all of their takes on The Knowledge Gap, click here and get access to hours of bonus content and videos. 

Finally, at the top of the show, Pam and Jacob take time to acknowledge the tragedy of political violence that surrounded President Trump and the bystanders who were wounded in an assassination attempt.

The post #201 The Knowledge Gap Has Gaps appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome to Craft & Draft, where we explore the art of teaching and the science of learning. In today’s episode, hosts Pam Ochoa and Jacob Chastain continue their summer book study of “The Knowledge Gap” by Natalie Wexler.

Join them as they explore chapters eleven, twelve and the epilogue in section three, “How We Can Change: Creating and Delivering a Content-Focused Curriculum.” Jacob and Pam critique the argument Wexler proposes regarding writing instruction and her conclusion.  

Pam discusses Wexler’s juxtaposition of two forms of writing instruction: Judith Hochman’s “Writing Revolution” and Lucy Calkins’ “Writer’s Workshop.”  Jacob explains her final arguments regarding “The Knowledge Gap” and how her solutions may or may not work.

Listen to all of the content of the Knowledge Gap Book Study HERE. 

The post #200 The Knowledge Gap Book Study Finale and Our Thoughts appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome to Craft & Draft, where we explore the art of teaching and the science of learning. In today’s episode, hosts Pam Ochoa and Jacob Chastain continue their summer book study of “The Knowledge Gap” by Natalie Wexler.

Join us as they explore chapters nine and ten in section three, “How We Can Change: Creating and Delivering a Content-Focused Curriculum.” Jacob and Pam critique the argument Wexler proposes regarding a content-focused curriculum.  Jacob addresses her argument against skills based learning such as using ‘mini-lessons’ followed by students grappling with difficult text.  Pam shares how she remembers these arguments historically and how they impacted her throughout the years.  Will Natalie Wexler convince Jacob and Pam before the book ends?

Hear the full episode here by clicking here to support the show on Patreon. 

The post #199 Chapters 9-10 of The Knowledge Gap (Book Study) appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome to Craft & Draft, where we explore the art of teaching and the science of learning. In today’s episode, hosts Pam Ochoa and Jacob Chastain continue their summer book study of “The Knowledge Gap” by Natalie Wexler.

Join us as they explore chapters seven and eight in section two, “How We Got Here: The History Behind the Content-Free Curriculum.” Pam and Jacob discuss what knowledge actually is and what it will mean to education if the curriculum is narrowed to a selection of ‘appropriate knowledge.’  They each discuss bias and how it impacts testing and what is taught.

We also answer and read YOUR comments posted in the Patreon. Listen to see what we said about them! (But only here.)

Drop your comments, questions, or concerns below! We’d love to talk with you about this.

The post #198 Chapters 7-8 of The Knowledge Gap (Book Study) appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome to Craft & Draft, where we explore the art of teaching and the science of learning. In today’s episode, hosts Pam Ochoa and Jacob Chastain continue their summer book study of “The Knowledge Gap” by Natalie Wexler.

Join us as they explore the second three chapters of section one, The history of the Reading Wars. Pam and Jacob discuss the political aspect which plays a large role in the conflict.  They each share how these wars have impacted their teaching career and so much more.

If you’re eager to join the full conversation, head over to our Patreon and unlock access to the entire hour and 45-minute episode. Don’t miss out on this thought-provoking discussion!

The post #197 Chapters 4-6 of The Knowledge Gap (Book Study) appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching. 

This summer on the podcast, Jacob and Pam will discuss the book, “The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System–And How to Fix It” by Natalie Wexler. The book addresses reading instruction and how it does not allow students to learn the type of knowledge they need to become efficient readers.  

Each podcast will discuss the various topics and chapters in the book.  This study promises to be complete with reflection, case studies, and thoughts on solutions for a deficient educational system.  

Jacob and Pam will continue a more in-depth study on their Patreon channel. It will include interactive questions and further group discussion as well as live interactive sessions.

Join Jacob and Pam during their book study!

The post #195 The Knowledge Gap Book Study (Join Us!) appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching. 

In this episode, Pam and Jacob talk about their idea of what “The Learning Gap” is and whether or not it is real.  Jacob looks at it from a literacy perspective while Pam shares how two different educational approaches are impacting young readers.

This summer Jacob and Pam are committing to read The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System and How to Fix It by Natalie Wexler.  They will discuss the book during the next episodes as well as complete a book study on the Craft and Draft Workshop Patreon.

Join Jacob and Pam during this recharge and professional development. If you want, get the book and follow along. It will be a great summer!

The post #194 Is the Knowledge Gap Real? (Book Study Intro) appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching. 

It’s interview time!  Interviews are often scarry, but they do not need to be.  In this episode, Jacob and Pam discuss the interview process.

Pam shares about one of her successful interviews and one of her not so successful interviews.  Jacob shares a few interesting moments from his interviews.

They each discuss tips and moments for a successful interview. Jacob shares what teachers may want to consider as they answer questions during the interview. Pam discusses types of questions teachers may want to ask in the interview when given the opportunity to ask questions.

Join Jacob and Pam while they discuss interviewing. Maybe you will find a few tips to keep you calm and be yourself!

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