Click here to read this mailing online.
"Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day…" - 5 new articles
The Best Resources On “Connective Instruction” AbsolutVision / Pixabay
Researchers have identified “connective instruction” as sort of a cross between building relationships and building relevance. I think it has some value in providing a framework for teachers to think and talk about instruction. You might also want to check out: The Best Ideas For Helping Students Connect Lessons To Their Interests & The World The Best Resources On The Importance Of Building Positive Relationships With Students
Here are are resources on Connective Instruction: Engage Kids With 7 Times the Effect is from Edutopia. How to Use Connective Instruction to Get a 7x Boost In Engagement is from AJ Juliani. Eliciting Engagement in the High School Classroom: A Mixed-Methods Examination of Teaching Practices Teacher-Student Relationships: A Key Starting Point for Helping Disengaged Kids      Increased Lighting Is To Improved Public Safety As [Blank] Is To Improved Student Learning DevoKit / Pixabay
The Atlantic recently had an article discussing the research finding that increasing the number of streetlights decreases crime substantially: Darkness is indeed a good cover for crime, so better lighting can make streets safer, not just by deterring misdeeds but also by encouraging others to fill the streets with activity.
That got me wondering if there might be similar “fixes” to school challenges. It was early in the morning, and my mind was not working great. So I asked ChatGPT this question: I just read an article talking about how increasing light on the streets, which is a non-polarizing issue, but that the research shows it has a dramatic reduction in crime. The crime doesn’t move elsewhere, it just disappears, particularly because creates opportunities for other activity to happen. What I’m trying to think about is when it comes to school reform or improvements in instruction quality, what ideas might be similar to the idea of adding street lighting that’s simple, non-polarizing, and solves the problem? Here is its response: There are a few school-improvement ideas that have a similar “street lighting” quality:
A key part of the street-lighting research is that lighting changes the ecosystem: more visibility, more informal supervision, more people out, more normal interaction. In schools, the closest analogues are interventions that increase connection, clarity, and productive participation across the whole environment. Here are some of the strongest candidates: 1. Increasing student talk timeFor ELLs especially, but really for everyone. Simple routines like:
These are not politically polarizing. They don’t require huge curriculum overhauls. But they often produce:
Like street lighting, they increase “visible participation.” More students become socially and cognitively present. This especially fits with your interest in Story Floods, micro-retells, and Critical Thinking Dialogues. 2. Building predictable classroom routinesClear daily structures:
Research on classroom management repeatedly shows that predictability lowers cognitive load and behavior issues. This is very “street lighting”:
It’s also one of the least polarizing reforms imaginable. 3. Improving schoolwide attendance outreachNot punitive truancy systems — relationship-based attendance work:
Attendance improvements cascade into:
Like lighting, it changes whether people feel connected to public space. 4. Expanding access to high-interest readingThis may be one of the strongest analogies. Not a complicated literacy ideology battle — just:
The effects can spread across:
Very low-polarization compared to reading wars debates. Stephen Krashen has argued versions of this point for years. 5. Better physical environmentsThis is the most literal analogy to lighting. Things like:
These sound almost trivial, but they affect:
Schools often underestimate how much cognitive bandwidth is consumed by environmental friction. 6. High-quality tutoring during the school dayEspecially short, embedded tutoring. Not flashy reform. Just:
The evidence base here is extremely strong. Importantly, tutoring often works because it increases:
Again, ecosystem effects. 7. Giving teachers more collaboration timeOne of the least glamorous but potentially highest-leverage reforms. If teachers have:
instruction quality tends to rise gradually and broadly. Like lighting, it changes the environment in which everything else happens. 8. Explicit vocabulary and background knowledge supportEspecially for secondary students and ELLs. Simple practices:
These reduce invisible barriers that otherwise compound every day. This is similar to lighting because it increases “navigability” of the environment. One interesting thing about your question is that it points toward a broader principle:
That’s why some reforms disappoint. They target individuals (“work harder,” “be more rigorous”) instead of redesigning the conditions under which people operate. In education history, some examples that arguably had “street lighting” effects include:
None are magic bullets. But they quietly change the daily ecology of schools.  This Might Be The Best Video About Motivation That’s Available To Show To Students
Frank Dick is an apparently legendary Scottish track coach. This short video would be amazing to show to students. He doesn’t call it “temporal comparison,” but that’s what he talks about – the importance of comparing yourself to your past, not to others. If I was still teaching, I’d show this video to students and then ask them to respond to this prompt: What does Frank Dick say about improving yourself? Do you agree with him? To support your opinion, be sure to include specific examples drawn from your own experience, your observations of others, or any of your readings. I’m adding this info to Best Posts On “Motivating” Students.   This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues
Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be interested in seeing all my “Best” lists related to education policy here):
I’m adding this post to If “Inquiry” Or “Direct Instruction” Is The Question, Then I Think “Inductive Learning” Is The Answer:
The Latest Wave of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Is Again Being Felt in Schools is from The 74. I’m adding it to The “Best” Resources For Learning How Trump’s Immigration Policies Are Causing Student Trauma AND Reduced School Enrollment.
Direct Instruction: What to Know About the Topic of the Next ‘Sold a Story’ Podcast is from Ed Week.
I’m adding this post to The “Best” Resources For Learning How Trump’s Immigration Policies Are Causing Student Trauma AND Reduced School Enrollment:
I’m adding this post to The Best Resources For Learning About The Student Protests In France:
 This Quotation Highlights The Main Reason I Think I Was Successful Doing Visualization With Students
I often did visualization with both my English Language Learner and English-proficient students when I was teaching, and wrote a lot about it – see Best Posts On Helping Students “Visualize Success.” The NY Times had an article about Olympic athletes using it – The art of visualization: What is it, and how does it help athletes at the Winter Olympics? I actually wasn’t that impressed with the article. I think my “Best” list includes far better ones. But I really, really liked the quotation from it I highlighted at the top of this post. I think it encapsulates the key reason it can be very effective.  More Recent Articles
|
