Inquiring into Vignettes of Practice

Video and print vignettes of Reading Apprenticeship practice provide a common text that teachers can use to hone their observational skills and deepen their understanding of classroom practices that put student voices at the center of instruction. Instructors at Renton Technical College found the classroom videos both reassuring and provocative:

Watching the videos allowed me to see what was possible when students have lots of practice. They really analyzed the material and helped each other understand. As with all new activities, I learned to keep at it even when one event seemed to fail. The repetition of routines became more comfortable as we had more practice.

—Beginning ESL instructor

In several of the videos I watched students who were very comfortable and open in group discussions. I can see that I have not structured my classroom in a way conducive to small‐group activities. Even worse, I fear that I have structured my classroom as a stage for my daily performances. This is going to require a major rethinking of my classroom environment.

—Automotive service technician instructor

Reading for Understanding includes a number of print vignettes—Classroom Close‐Ups—that teams can choose to explore. In addition, the Reading Apprenticeship website has a collection of short videos that teams can make the center of inquiry. Team Tool 6.21 lists the various print and video vignettes teams might want to consider; Team Tool 6.22 is protocol for using the vignettes.

Reading for Understanding is a rich resource for classroom vignettes. The Reading Apprenticeship website also has a number of classroom video clips that are fascinating to explore.

SELECTED READING FOR UNDERSTANDING CLASSROOM CLOSE‐UPS

Classroom Close‐Up 3.3 Amidst Familial Gatherings
Classroom Close‐Up 3.4 That’s Cool. You’re Isolating What You Don’t Know
Classroom Close‐Up 3.7 Choosing Not to Fail
Classroom Close‐Up 3.9 Becoming a Student
Classroom Close‐Up 4.4 Reciprocal Modeling of a Think Aloud
Classroom Close‐Up 4.6 Okay, What Else Did You Notice?
Classroom Close‐Up 5.4 Disciplinary Inquiry of the Day
Classroom Close‐Up 5.6 Framing an Inquiry into Two Poems
Classroom Close‐Up 6.1 Book Partying
Classroom Close‐Up 7.1 We’re Going to Practice This and Get Better at It
Classroom Close‐Up 7.3 Chunking the First Amendment
Classroom Close‐Up 7.4 “My Name Is Ricardo, Too”
Classroom Close‐Up 8.6 “She Was a First Person”

READING APPRENTICESHIP CLASSROOM VIDEO CLIPS ONLINE

http://readingapprenticeship.org/research‐impact/videos/classroom/

PURPOSE

When teams explore print and video classroom vignettes, the vignettes serve as a common text that allows team members to observe student and teacher behaviors that contribute to students’ academic identity and growth. (The vignettes are listed in Team Tool 6.21.)

PROCEDURE

In advance: When using the vignettes from Reading for Understanding, choose two or three for team members to read and chose from for further inquiry. Make copies of the vignettes or let team members know to bring their copies of the book.

With the video vignettes, you or the team may want to use the grade and topic indicators as the way to select a clip to explore. Arrange for a way that team members can easily view the video clips online.

• When using the print vignettes, direct team members to a set of two or three texts. Ask them to read the texts and together decide on one to explore further.
• When using video vignettes, ask team members to select a video for the team to explore.
• Provide the following prompts for team members to consider as they explore a vignette:
  1. What is this vignette about?
  2. What is the teacher doing to support diverse students in this work?
  3. What are the students doing?
  4. In what ways does the instruction provide a rigorous disciplinary‐literacy environment?
  5. How does the instruction map onto the interacting Reading Apprenticeship dimensions?
     • Where are the personal and social dimensions in evidence?
     • What are students learning in the cognitive and knowledge‐building dimensions?
     • How is metacognitive conversation represented?
     • What can you learn from this inquiry? What seems important to remember?
• Encourage team members to Talk to the Text of a print vignette or to make Evidence/Interpretation notes about a video vignette.
• Facilitate discussion of team members’ ideas about the vignette.
• Conclude with a discussion of these questions:
  1. Which students seem to benefit from ongoing opportunities to learn by using Reading Apprenticeship routines and strategies in their subject areas?
  2. Which of the students in our school could benefit from this kind of support?
  3. How can we work as a school community to provide that ongoing support to our students?