This document discusses using language as a cultural force in classrooms. It introduces thinking routines and provides examples of how to structure discussions about teaching practices. Key aspects covered include using thinking routines to develop student skills, analyzing teacher observations through a protocol like "ladder of feedback", and viewing the development of a thinking culture as an ongoing process. The document encourages connecting ideas to one's own experiences and challenging assumptions.

1. THE POWER OF LANGUAGE
as a cultural force in our classrooms
Emily Freeman
ectfreeman@me.com
@emmytbots

2. FIRST, A GAME!
➤ Use your smart phone or
tablet.
➤ Go to kahoot.it in your
browser (i.e. Safari)

3. WHAT ARE THINKING
ROUTINES?
http://youtu.be/IFNpxBLyFQk
CONNECT
What sounds familiar?
EXTEND
Did anything surprise you
or make you think
differently about routines?
CHALLENGE
Is there anything you'd like
to question?
No, really! Are our ideas of
routines aligned with their
intentions?

4. The Four C's
➤ Connections - What connections do you draw to the text and
your own life or other learning?
➤ Challenges - What ideas, positions, or assumptions do you
want to challenge or argue with in the text?
➤ Concepts - What key concepts or ideas do you think are
important and worth holding on to from the text?
➤ Changes - what changes in attitudes, thinking, or action are
suggested by the text, either for you or for others?
DISCUSSING DEBBIE MILLER

5. LANGUAGE RESOURCES
Teacher Talk prompts
to hang and use
Types of classroom
language

6. TEACHER
LABS
THROUGH A
LANGUAGE
LENS
Schroeder's Approach

7. ➤ Support vs competition - NO Rockstars!
➤ Learning with vs learning from
➤ Starting with a puzzle of practice
➤ Co-teaching as exploration
➤ Follow-up
➤ Labs
➤ Grade-banded teams, ALL teachers participate
SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS

8. ➤ Using a protocol - modified Ladder of Feedback
➤ Impartial facilitator who will stick to the protocol!
➤ Focus on implications for our own teaching, not on the teacher
we observed
➤ Thank the demonstration teachers
FACILITATING

9. LET'S PRACTICE!
➤ Take a few minutes
to read the Ladder
of Feedback
protocol
➤ As we watch the
video, jot down
your observations
using the prompts
➤ Focus on
implications for
your classroom
https://vimeo.com/channels/853164
Using the protocol in observing
classrooms

10. “Becoming a culture of thinking is best
viewed as an ongoing process, one
that may well begin with using
thinking routines, but doesn't end
there.
-Ron Ritchhart

11. THANK YOU!
LET'S CONNECT!
ectfreeman@me.com
Follow me on Twitter:
@emmytbots