Unveiling Your SuperHero Skills: Concious Competence

About a month ago in a protocol training an "aha" moment occurred for me. I had been thinking a lot about observations and conversations I had with several people. In every conversation and observation it is clear that the teacher knows where the students are, what they need to know to get there and what the plan is to get them there. Where the progress was happening most was when the student was made as equally aware of their own understanding, what strategies they need to use effectively to grow as learners, and had a goal or plan to move their own learning forward.

In the protocol training, the facilitator, Thomas VanSoelen, used a very simple protocol "Say, Say, Do" to help us build community. What was noted that after every round (each round becoming more difficult) we had to reflect and then identify the strategy(ies) we used to keep up with the facilitator's commands. The stop, reflect, identify, and share was similar to what I had observed where students were making the most progress. I couldn't really wrap my head around what it was, so I brought my wonderings to Thomas. It was there he explained the concept of Concious Competence.

Outside of the world of education it is desired that your learning or competence moves to the point of unconsious competence. What I was seeing and Thomas helped me to put into words was that in the world of education we are most powerful when we are purposefully taking what we do unconsciously with our competence and outwardly share... making where students are, what they need to know to get there and the plan/goal concisouly competent. Make what you know inwardly and make it known outwardly. It makes every move we make to push our student growth verbal/written at a point for student consumption and application.

In the next few weeks before the holiday and when we return and begin MOY assessments there are approximately eight weeks. That is about the same amount of time students have for summer break. One of the ways we can continue to be powerful in those weeks is when we are working with students both in small group and whole group instruction using techniques to share our knowledge in a way that students take that and apply to their own learning. These consciously competent conversations with a student or students can also be considered closely aligned wtih the cycle of intentional feedback (cycle indicating ongoing and provides for two-way communication).

During concsciously competent conversations are opportunities for specific and intentional goals to be set with our students. We know that when moving students from one reading level to the next, how that is done is as unique as the learner themselves. Those goals are also not just Reading specific, but can be cross curricular. When a student is aware of how a reading goal can be focused on in Science or Math or Writing, they support their own goal. When a team can see how a reading goal can be impacted in another content area, we are helping that student fortify their skills through out a day's instruction and capitalize on opportunity for exponential growth.

Recently at another campus there were charts shared focused on goals specific to certain DRA levels. It was a great tool to create more specificity with our readers and their goals that moved beyond them progressing to the next level. (Pictured below)

 As we close in on these next few weeks, and look toward our MOY goals for these kiddos how could the above goal starters help us to better identify individual goals, shared with our students, that can move our kiddos forward? How can we lean in and be concisously competent with our students in a powerful way that moves us forward in the next 8 weeks instead of mirroring the summer slide with a winter windfall?

Finding time...

Over and over again there is a matter of time. There is not enough of it. In our personal lives and in our professional lives. In our personal lives we have to make decisions, prioritize and address the most pressing/important matters with our relationships, responsibilities and activities. In our professional lives, we have to do much of the same.

As we move into the second half of the year... we have data that shows us where are students are, from where they began the year. We know where we need to get them by the end of the year...

So, how do we do that? We must look with a strong focus and a magnifying lens at how we use our time. What can we tighten up on, where can we get a dual benefit from one activity/task, and what do we need to consider changing.

The article "Time on Task: A Strategy That Accelerates Learning" offers some research proven techniques that many of you already employ. It is a great reminder of what we are already doing and possibly a good nudge to revisit actions we may have forgotten, walked away from or would be worth a try.

As we move forward this second half of the year strategically pushing for growth with our kids, let us make every effort to use our time efficiently, intentionally and with purpose. Every moment with our students is a moment to be magnified and utilized to ensure success and growth. How can we use use every margin of time for this purpose?