researchFRED Reflections
Finding your people in dialogue with the research; and much more
I was blessed to be able to attend researchED in Frederick, Maryland this past October 22nd, 2022—and what a journey and experience it was! After following the chatter about research-based teaching and learning through #Edutwitter and otherwise for several years, I’ve come to know some exceptional folks who are super thoughtful and intentional in the ways they approach teaching and learning, and engage in meaningful dialogue around learning materials, practices, design and discourse. Not only was I able to connect with many folks for the first time in person, but the sessions and learning were absolutely top-notch, as well as the excellent management and coordination of the event by folks in Frederick County Public Schools.
I took it upon myself to venture up to Maryland for this event. Maybe it’s my new work at Teaching Lab around teacher professional learning, maybe it’s my doctoral studies around teacher dialogue, maybe it’s an interest in consulting—probably it’s an over-abiding passion for learning that was the key motivation for me here. So I decided to travel up there alone from Louisiana, and fortuitously enough so many little pieces fell into place that it’s been more than worth the effort and investment.
The event was so thoughtfully coordinated that I found lots of help with securing a hotel with provisions for a shuttle both to the Friday opening reception and the Saturday event. I didn’t know what to expect when I went down the the lobby on Friday night to catch the shuttle, yet surely enough there were Patrice Bain and Dr. Pooja Agarwal ready to head over to Hood College for some opening celebrations. Here I am, just some fella from Louisiana telling folks I’m surely not presenting, but just along for the ride. Soon, however, I found that not only were my compatriots here totally welcoming, but I actually had plenty to contribute to the conversation considering my teaching and leading experience. In fact, I’ve shared with my spouse in my post-event reflections that this experience might have cured me of (some) impostor syndrome…
When I sat on the bus, I got to meet my new friend MJ—who was indeed giving a talk, but shared the same humbling experience of riding on a big charter bus with authors and presenters whose books populate our bookshelves and whose talks and insights have so thoroughly influenced our work. The folks in Frederick County Public Schools held an outstanding celebration of the day to come—and meeting Kristin McQuillan, Katie Scotti, Andrew Watson, Gale Morrison and myriad others was such an invigorating experience that set the stage for an excellent day of learning to follow.
And it surely didn’t end there! Upon arrival at the cathedral that is Frederick High School, I got to meet North Landesman and Courtney Ostaff—both of whom I admire so much with their insights and experience in teaching and learning, and openness to different perspectives on how we might approach schooling. And then we were off to the races! My new friends Patrice and Pooja gave an excellent Keynote on Powerful Teaching, through which I learned more about the context and development of their work, and Patrice’s newer endeavors in availing parents of some precepts of powerful teaching.
Then the breakouts began! Did I mention the outstanding facilities? First, I visited Dr. Pedro de Bruyckere’s session entitled Almost Everything You Need to Know About Psychology, where I learned I needed his book on this very topic. Whilst sitting in this amazing lab-classroom, a fella shuffles in to find one of the few remaining seats, and sure enough it’s Robert Pondiscio whose Louisiana Threads the Needle on Ed Reform from years back has been part of teacher training I’ve been leading in Louisiana for years.
After a brief chat and a pledge to reconvene later, off I was to Kristen McQuillan’s session on Operationalizing the Science of Reading at Scale. Considering lots of my work in Louisiana over the past few years, the policy situations here (and otherwise) around high-quality materials and curriculum-embedded professional learning, this session really helped me place and examine some challenges and successes I’ve seen on the ground with school reform around quality materials and evidence-based practice. The insight and findings from TNTP’s work across 400 or so systems helps illuminate the multi-pronged approach necessary for systemic reform, and helps place some symptoms of poorly-managed changed in a framework that reveals critical inputs to consider when looking to bring learning science to life at scale.
Next up—back to the auditorium for an excellent panel on Research All Educators Should Know featuring Dr. Shana Carpenter, Dr. Pedro de Bruyckere, Dr. Jim Heal (a new friend!) and Andrew Watson moderated by Dr. Ian Kelleher. What really has stuck with me here was a remark from Dr. de Bruyckere about not losing track of, as teachers, loving our students, but even moreso a few points from Andrew Watson. First, that it’s easy to overlook a critical psychological finding—everybody is different! But even further—that oftentimes educational research is finding names for things that many teachers already do in their classrooms, and that we must keep in mind the things teachers already know from anecdote and experience. Bringing research to teachers is absolutely critical, but navigating the heartfelt, personal and sentimental investments of teachers over many years is the true work of leadership. Understanding these different ways of knowing that teachers live is integral for the on-the-ground, pragmatic work of school reform—that of educational leaders at the school and system level, as well as the work of reformers from the non-profit space and otherwise.
I can’t fail to mention this excellent lunch squad we’d developed, with Robert and MJ interfacing about work in NYC schools, Katie sharing amazing experience with Wit & Wisdom, whilst my ed-hero Courtney avoided talking up her much-anticipated and surely useful forthcoming book on How to Homeschool the Kids You Have.
The afternoon did not disappoint as well. Colleen Driggs’ session on The Fluency Gap helped me situate some current thinking on fluency and how teachers can support its development through communal reading—both in the K-8 space and my wheelhouse of secondary teaching and learning. She walked us through video examples of fluency practice in the classroom, and connected communal reading to a sense of belonging where teachers invite students into the oral reading experience, and develop a culture of openness to error which drives the learning process.
I was also blessed to visit a session led by some of Frederick’s own—Katie Malone and Terry Fowler-Meggitt—on How the Science of Reading Can Improve Vocabulary Instruction. It was so amazing to see these teachers in their district share their journey with what they used to do, what they’ve learned through amazing resources like Natalie Wexler’s The Knowledge Gap, and what they’re now applying in their classroom in vocabulary instruction and sentence-level writing work. Plus, I could see these amazing local teachers empowered by their colleagues, and made a point to name just how special this event is with the receptivity of the district as a whole!
Saving the best for (almost) last was not my intention on the day, but that’s practically what happened. I joined Courtney for Callie Lowenstein’s mind-blowing session on Examining Foundational Literacy Skills Through a Cognitive Science Lens. With the two littles my wife and I have running around our house, and the foundational skills we’re looking to support in their early childhood development, this session really blew my mind by challenging some things we’ve applied at home, and situating them graciously in what we know from cognitive science about cognitive load. I think I liked the session so much for the challenges it presented to my thinking and practice—without those thoughtful pushes, how might I reconsider and refine the work I do with my own children, with students in schooling environments, and with teachers around pedagogical and instructional practice? We must be more cognizant (ha!) of the potential for overload when we’re bringing a bunch of bells and whistles to literacy instruction with littles (and others!). Perhaps some of the cutesy, extra things are distracting from focus on phonemic and phonological awareness and the alphabetic principle.
Finally, to bookend the experience, the afternoon’s panel on The Science of Reading didn’t shy away from emerging discourse on the typical fate of catch-phrasey ed reforms. Kristen McQuillan’s remarks on a potential public relations problem for “the science of reading” are pertinent, especially considering the current dialogue around Emily Hanford and Christopher Peaks’ Sold a Story podcast—whose next episode I await with bated breath.
It’s been 48 hours since I arrived back here in Louisiana, and I’m still decompressing from what was a major landmark in my personal and professional development as an educator, leader, teacher and learner. I’m still having cascades of epiphanies from the many wonderful remarks I witnessed, the excellent conversations I had with colleagues and new friends on the margins of the sessions, and all the shared learning that transpired. When I went into the weekend, I thought for sure this small town Louisiana boy was just along for the ride, but I came back with a renewed sense of purpose, and a better understanding of how my experiences here as a teacher, leader and reformer are valuable and helpful to those working in myriad other contexts. And I didn’t even go into the wild hijinks of a Saturday night in Frederick, Maryland with North Landesman et al! Maybe another time—maybe at the next researchED you’ll get me to tell the tale. And surely I’ll be there, as Robert said—no matter the location.
Thank you, Rod, for writing this special piece. ResearchED is like no other conference or professional development. For 36 hours, we are in the company of like-minded professionals who offer validation and challenges with evidence and grace. I am so happy to have met you and am confident we will meet again!