Location: Fitchburg State University, Massachusetts

Years of Teaching: 25 years (including K through College)

If you had to describe yourself as an educator, what six words would you use and why?

Caring, accessible, and fair: First and foremost, I care about who my students are as people. I make sure that I am accessible to them both in and out of the classroom so that they have what they need to learn and perform at their best. I am fair and equitable when designing learning opportunities and assessments, and I provide the flexibility that students need to meet their learning targets, even when life throws curveballs their way.

Energetic, enthusiastic, and humorous: Students tell me that my classes are fun and engaging, that they enjoy my use of humor, and they are motivated by the energy that I bring to the learning environment.

What drew you to Reading Apprenticeship?

I first learned about Reading Apprenticeship when I was a reading specialist at a residential school for children with behavioral and mental health disorders. I served students K through12, but we had limited resources for teaching comprehension, particularly for older students. I happened upon the first edition of “Reading for Understanding” and began incorporating Reading Apprenticeship into my practice. Once I transitioned to teaching at the collegiate level, I found that Reading Apprenticeship was still a part of my practice. But Reading Apprenticeship really became a career-defining pedagogy for me when I brought it to the table as a resource for teaching reading in our first-year seminars across campus, where we now have faculty implementing Reading Apprenticeship routines in every department!

What is your go-to Reading Apprenticeship routine?

Think Aloud is my go-to Reading Apprenticeship routine! I use it in every aspect of my teaching, from the classroom to advising. It has become such a part of who I am and how I function on a daily basis that my students have come to understand it as a way of getting the most out of every learning experience by leveraging the skills, strategies, and knowledge of everyone at the table, no matter the task.

Can you share a story about a time when you or a student had an “aha!” moment with Reading Apprenticeship?

While I’ve had many students experience “aha!” moments with Reading Apprenticeship, I think the most powerful moments have been with my campus colleagues. As the coordinator of our first-year seminar program, I am responsible for designing and delivering the faculty professional learning program, which ensures that all first-year seminars across campus target the same three learning outcomes (habits of mind, metacognitive reading, and information literacy). Reading Apprenticeship is the central pedagogical approach that we use to help students meet all three learning outcomes. What has been most impactful for me in this work is seeing my colleagues struggle through some initial discomfort to now implementing Reading Apprenticeship routines in ALL of their classes (not just their first-year seminars)! Some of my most skeptical colleagues have become the greatest champions of and advocates for Reading Apprenticeship on campus, and that has been a true privilege to witness.

If you could describe Reading Apprenticeship in a sentence, what would you say?

Reading Apprenticeship is really thinking apprenticeship – no matter the situation, you can use the routines to read, think, and learn with greater stamina and depth.

What are you reading right now?

“Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine” by Robert H. Lustig, MD, MSL

Interested in learning more about Reading Apprenticeship facilitation? Read on to learn about Laurie and her “why”!

Location: Saline, MI

Years of Teaching: 22 – teaching was a second career for me

If you had to describe yourself as an educator, what six words would you use and why?

Patient, Kind and Caring – because these traits are the gateway to understanding children. Students used to say I was “easy going”, which is how these things translated to them. I know they didn’t always see that it was a conscious choice and sometimes took a bit of work. :). They always need to know they are safe with you and that you care about them. Their families need to know this as well. When they realize this, they become yours – and, of course they emulate what they see and experience!

Innovative and Resourceful – because teaching should never be stagnant. We need to be continuously aware of the ever-changing world we ALL live in and how that affects us and our students. This should influence what and how we teach and learn.

Hardworking and Collaborative – because teaching is truly hard work and we need to work together with our colleagues to bring our best to our students and each other. They and we deserve no less. To be collaborative, I find it really helps to be kind, caring, innovative and resourceful with our colleagues as well. We need to share and listen, and work to improve what we do as a team without expecting that each of us will do things in the same way, but rather in ways that fit who we are, who are students are, and are focused on continuously improving both.

What drew you to Reading Apprenticeship?

Seeing it work! Seeing a way to reach those students that I hadn’t felt able to really help in my early years of teaching. I still see the faces of those that I was not able to help in the ways that I can now. I wish I’d had this knowledge and experience from the start.

What is your go-to Reading Apprenticeship routine?

Modeling Think-Alouds. I find that with everything we do I am always modeling my thinking for my students. It is not always part of a formal lesson plan, but can simply include my sharing aloud what I am thinking and why at any point in time. I want them to take in the various ways we make sense of our world, and I want to hear theirs as well.

Can you share a story about a time when you or a student had an “aha!” moment with Reading Apprenticeship?

My “aha!” moment came in my first year with RA when I was really in the mode of trying things out and trusting that it would pay off. Things were awkward for me as I had never charted responses on posters before, nor had I used my overhead projector for much more than a place to store some of my “stuff” that I didn’t have time to deal with. And, of course, sharing my thinking out loud was a real challenge for me.

My teaching partner and I were supporting and encouraging one another, and along with the support we got from our county partners, we were moving along yet I hadn’t seen much in the way of results. I remained skeptical.

Sometime in January I was grading a set of social studies tests when I came upon the test of a student who had self-identified as a struggling reader in the beginning of the year. Her mom and prior teacher had said the same thing. Her mom had said “We’ve tried everything, but she continues to struggle with reading.” Well, she aced the test and I have to admit that I wondered if she had cheated. When I told my teaching partner, she exclaimed “No! She has jumped 7 points on her reading assessment!”

This was when I realized that all that we’d been doing really did work – even if only for this one student. And if it worked for her, it would work for other students – many others. After that, there was no going back – I am here because of that moment, because of that student.

Five years ago she was hired as a Special Ed Teacher Consultant in my building. This works!

If you could describe Reading Apprenticeship in a sentence, what would you say?

Apprenticing our students in reading changes everything!

What are you reading right now?

Getting to Fluency by William Maiert. It is a book about learning a foreign language. Right now it is pointing out to me all the reasons I am not “yet” fluent in Spanish. Basically I need to make it a much higher priority and practice than I have, but for now Google translate might have to do.

Location: Michigan

Years of Teaching: 14

If you had to describe yourself as an educator, what six words would you use and why?

Caring, Learner, Leader, Student Advocate, Inspirer, Passionate

 
Reading Apprenticeship helps and empowers students to take control of their own learning and become strong readers and disciplinary experts.”

 

What drew you to Reading Apprenticeship?

I was drawn by the framework. The framework reminds me that I have humans in front of me. I noticed and appreciated that it valued process and granted individuals the time and space to process.

What is your go-to Reading Apprenticeship routine?

A/B Partner Think Aloud

Can you share a story about a time when you or a student had an “aha!” moment with Reading Apprenticeship?

“My first “aha” with Reading Apprenticeship was when I recognized my own reading process, especially with reading figures. As a science reader, I always gravitated towards figures first, yet I always taught them last. It was then that I learned to always recognize my process and help others recognize theirs.

My major “aha!” moment was when my 9th-grade Biology class engaged in sophisticated conversation about Evolution in a way that I don’t even remember myself engaging in as an undergraduate college student. Students were building on and using disciplinary language and vocabulary make meaning and deepen their understanding of the content. I could see and hear their growth in the ways they were thinking and speaking. I knew then that Reading Apprenticeship was a game-changer.”

If you could describe Reading Apprenticeship in a sentence, what would you say?

Reading Apprenticeship helps and empowers students to take control of their own learning and become strong readers and disciplinary experts.

What are you reading right now?

Life as a Leb-neh Lover: The Identity Crisis of a Maybe-Lebanese by Kathy Shalhoub

Interested in learning more about Reading Apprenticeship facilitation? Read on to learn about Sheng and her “why”! Apply to our 2022 Reading Apprenticeship Facilitator in Training program. Applications are due March 31, 2022.

Location: Clovis, CA

Years of Teaching: 8

If you had to describe yourself as an educator, what six words would you use and why?

I would describe myself as a “students first,” “always learning,” “always improving” educator because my students are at the forefront of every professional decision I make. Due to that, I am always looking to learn and improve upon my craft to better help them find success.

Reading Apprenticeship meets students where they are at and is a toolbox of strategies that will help students build confidence and problem solve in reading complex texts across disciplines.”

 

What drew you to Reading Apprenticeship?

What drew me to Reading Apprenticeship is that it teaches students to push through the struggle and develop grit and problem-solving skills without constantly relying on the teacher for help. Reading Apprenticeship improves literacy across all disciplines and allows students to share whatever their level of insight is collaboratively while meeting students where they are at so that all students, no matter their varying abilities, are able to be contributing learners and teachers in the discourse of the learning taking place in the classroom. Reading Apprenticeship not just tackles literacy comprehension in terms of words and reading, but literacy in terms of graphs, charts, images, etc. to help improve literacy across disciplines.

What is your go-to Reading Apprenticeship routine?

“Reading Strategies List” is my go-to Reading Apprenticeship routine!

Can you share a story about a time when you or a student had an “aha!” moment with Reading Apprenticeship?

I was teaching an 11th grade class that had struggling readers and some RSP students. As my class was reading the complex but very powerful “Letter From Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I overheard my students engaging in metacognitive conversations while talking to the text. They were problem solving when they got to difficult parts in order to make sense of the text and they were not afraid to share out when they were confused so their peers could help them out. They were also sharing insights they found on their own that they were proud of to help their peers learn from their insights. “Birmingham” is a complex text and when my students got through the reading and completing the rhetorical analysis task at hand and realized they did not once ask me for help, one of my students said: “Mrs. Vu, you are an amazing teacher!” They had credited me for their comprehension and engagement of this complex text, but they did not realize that I had done nothing but observe them collaborating and working through the “struggle” instead. They had done this all by themselves without having to rely on me, the teacher, for any help so I replied to this student and to the class: “Don’t thank me! You did that all by yourselves. Thank yourselves. That was a hard text and you all did it by yourself!” to which some of them proudly replied “we DID do that all by ourselves!”

If you could describe Reading Apprenticeship in a sentence, what would you say?

Reading Apprenticeship meets students where they are at and is a toolbox of strategies that will help students build confidence and problem solve in reading complex texts across disciplines.

What are you reading right now?

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson.

Location: Dearborn, MI

Years of Teaching: 12

If you had to describe yourself as an educator, what six words would you use and why?

Six words to describe myself as an educator are: patient, enthusiastic, consistent, attentive, thoughtful, and persistent.

I was drawn to the mindset that all students
can become readers. I tried out the routines
from Reading Apprenticeship little by little,
and I started to see results. I live within
the framework now.”

What drew you to Reading Apprenticeship?

I was lucky to take a teaching position with a district that values Reading Apprenticeship. After I attended my first training, I signed up to attend three more times in following years! I was drawn to the mindset that all students can become readers. I tried out the routines from Reading Apprenticeship little by little, and I started to see results. I live within the framework now.

What is your go-to Reading Apprenticeship routine?

My go-to Reading Apprenticeship routine is Think-Pair-Share.

Can you share a story about a time when you or a student had an “aha!” moment with Reading Apprenticeship?

One of many “aha!” moments I have experienced with Reading Apprenticeship came from shifting to a student-led classroom. As I facilitated more, the students had more opportunities. I remember a moment with my 10th-grade class when a student came up to the document camera to share a Talking to the Text sample from an article. Other students were learning from the schema this particular student brought to the article and then shared with the class. We all learned, and it meant so much more coming from a student who just happened to share that day.

If you could describe Reading Apprenticeship in a sentence, what would you say?

Slowing down to honor the framework pays off.

What are you reading right now?

I am reading The Book Thief with a small group of 6th graders, The Maze Runner with a small group of 7th graders, and Girl, Woman, Other on my own.

Location: Chicago, IL

Years of Teaching: 9

What drew you to Reading Apprenticeship?

I was drawn to Reading Apprenticeship (RA) because I knew I wanted to cultivate a culture of literacy learning in my mathematics classroom but did not have the full background as a humanities teacher to do so. The school I was working at was using RA to drive their school-wide instructional goals but noticed my fellow mathematics teachers were not as engaged in the work. I dove in, started mapping out ways to be a RA teacher in a math class, and started to feel comfortable with the routines. In first learning sessions, I loved that the facilitators were open to my questions about incorporating the moves in math classrooms.

My classroom, vibe, energy were always focused on making sure that the most silenced, marginalized students were at the forefront of my planning. In addition to that, issues affecting them as Black students always superseded the mathematics lesson.”

If you had to describe yourself as an educator, what six words would you use and why?

Facilitator. I do not believe in being the “sage on the stage” at all unless I’m in an actual play or musical. My instruction was always centering the students, their learning, their emotions, and their humanity before anything else.

Curator. I create safe spaces for kids to be their full selves unapologetically even in the usual rigid mathematics classroom. Allowing students to meditate, show emotions, dance, or showcase their thinking were some of the ways I created safety.

Fave/Bro/Mr. C/LenDog. These were nicknames my students bestowed upon me once they knew they could be comfortable with me. They would affectionally call me these names within any setting.

Black. My classroom, vibe, energy were always focused on making sure that the most silenced, marginalized students were at the forefront of my planning. In addition to that, issues affecting them as Black students always superseded the mathematics lesson. We would watch news coverage, have discussions, and brainstorm ways we can work towards our own abolition in school settings.

Reflector. I always honored time to reflect on lessons and instruction. After a good or bad class, test, grading term, etc. my students and I would always engage in activities to help us accentuate our positive behaviors and work on plans towards our growth areas. Students would reflect on their performance, my performance and vice versa during a whole classroom.

Questioner. My instructional framework, daily reflections, and interactions always started with me or my students asking a question. I was inspired by a lyric from Erykah Badu’s On & On, “The man that knows something, knows that he knows nothing at all.”

What is your go-to Reading Apprenticeship routine?

Definitely Reading Strategies List.

Can you share a story about a time when you or a student had an “aha!” moment with Reading Apprenticeship?

We were beginning our lesson on quadratic functions and I had asked students to just read and talk to the notes packets as they constructed their knowledge. We built four reading strategies lists for just two pages of text, because there was information, examples, charts, and graphs in the notes. After we built the list, at least five students had epiphanies on strategies they wanted to employ in their future lessons to address the texts could not access as deeply initially.

If you could describe Reading Apprenticeship in a sentence, what would you say?

Reading Apprenticeship is a collection of tools and routines to foster cultures where students deeply read texts from wherever their positionalities are.

What are you reading right now?

I am currently reading Progressive Dystopia: Abolition, Antiblackness and Schooling in San Francisco