The First Genre Practice Conference
Last month, nearly everyone featured on this site participated in the very first Genre Practice Conference, held at P.S. 126 and New York University in New York City (I felt privileged to be in the audience). Likely we will all find plenty of fodder here for many entries, but these were the main ideas that struck me: What Is Genre Practice? “Genre Practice is not Whole Language,” Cynthia McCallister, founder of genrepractice.org, said as part of her introductory remarks. “While [Genre Practice is] based on some of the same commitments to children’s engagement and learning experiences that emphasize the meanings the children make in their reading and writing, Whole Language theorists did not go far enough to hold teaching accountable to making sure children learn what’s necessary to meet the normative expectations of society.” She described the “architecture” of a genre practice classroom as akin to a workshop approach: “That’s the house I grew up in,” McCallister, who began teaching in the late 1980s, explained. “But the interior décor, and what happens inside the structure, has been informed by contemporary theories on learning.” “ ‘Genre’ is text--an utterance intended to do something with a social purpose,” McCallister continued. “We acquire competencies through use and ‘practice.’” In Genre Practice classrooms, children make choices. Through their autonomy, they begin to understand the context of what they write, and their teachers encourage them to find examples of what they are writing so they may choose the right form for delivering their message. “Most of all, they need to learn ‘agency’ [ahead of skill mastery, in predetermined areas such as nonfiction, report writing, etc.]. They need structure in order to be analytical.” As to the “practice” part of the equation, “Literacy is not just competency [e.g., learning their ABCs], but also social interaction; a child can’t bring who he or she is to group interaction” unless the children acquire a sense of “confidence and competence, and the competencies required to interact successfully.” The Distinctions of the Genre Practice Classroom 1. Freedom. A student has freedom concerning what to write, where to sit, what to read. Support from the Top Kerry Decker, principal at P.S. 126, talked about why she and her teachers have embraced the Genre Practice approach and how that has transformed their school—with test results to prove it—but also spoke candidly about the importance of standing behind her teachers as the rocky transition took place, and teachers began to establish the new structures crucial to giving their students more “agency.” The day was a mix of the practical and the passionate. Genre Practice teachers demonstrated how they meet the state test standards while also engendering in students a love of research, reading and writing in pursuit of their own personal passions. Perhaps David Olson, the keynote speaker at the Genre Practice Conference, who attended the two days in P.S. 126 classrooms and presentations by the teachers there, put it best. At the close of the second day, Olson told everyone attending, “Things can be done in the classroom that I’d only dreamed could be done.” Stay tuned…
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EVENTSAMERICAN EDUCATION RESEARCH ASSOCIATION Unison Reading: Engaging, Effective, Heterogeneous Small-Group Reading Instruction, K-8 INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION Genre Practice: A 'Principled' Pedagogy for Adolescent Literacy Genre Practice: A Pedagogy fo Student Responsibility for Literacy Learning Unison Reading: Engaging, Effective Small-group Reading Instruction, K-8 Genre Practice: A Pedagogy for Literacy that Supports Avoidant and Low Achieving Students Research Poster Session by Cynthia McCallister, Kim Greene & Kerry Decker NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH Supporting English Language Learners with Genre Practice Engaging Reluctant Learners through Genre Practice: Literacy Instruction that Supports Engagement and Achievement Genre Practice: A Model for Accountability for Literacy Learning Radical Freedom and Genre Practice: How Children Still Learn What's Expected When They're in Control of Reading Workshop Feelings, Emotions, and Genre Practice: Restoring Joyfulness into Standards-Based Literacy Education
59th NATIONAL READING CONFERENCE Acquiring English Literacy through "Genre Practice": Accounts of K-8 English Language Learners
RECOMMENDED READING
"The Cambridge Handbook of Literacy, by David R. Olson and Nancy Torrance, is a comprehensive and descriptive survey of literacy across a full range of social and psychological functions. The authors' treatment of the topic of literacy extends far beyond the narrow concerns of learning to reading and write, offering a constellation of insights that hold promise to guide the reconceptualization of literacy instruction." Cynthia McCallister, Ed.D. FRIENDS OF GENRE PRACTICE Jenny Brown, has a great web site devoted to childrens' books. It's called Amy Simone Piller is a poet, teacher and blogger.
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Genre Practice
For the past semester, I have learned a lot about Genre Practice in the classroom. While the emphasis is creating a classroom culture where students gain autonomy in their own learning through social interactions, I am also struck by teacher collaboration. It's impressive to see how much conversation takes place among teachers across the grades. This fantastic because, since the approach is relatively new, it's crucial to have a strong support system. In many schools, there is minimal collaboration among teachers, creating a less of a cohesion in the school. I believe that Genre Practice definitely combats this sentiment and is successful because of it's collaboration among teachers and students.
GP conference
You highlighted the factors that make Genre Practice unique! I have been learning about Genre Practice through my graduate school classes at NYU, as well as through seminars held at NYU. I have also been experimenting with features of Genre Practice by bringing them into the classrooms where I am a substitute teacher.
For example, I implemented a writing share and I was absolutely blown away at the increased level of engagement during writing workshop. It is very different than any other approach I've seen in practice. At first I was skeptical; the features you highlighted were actually the very reasons why I was skeptical. I didn't understand how all students could be responsible for their learning when each student had the freedom to work on a project of their choice. It just seemed so unmanageable; yes, there are moments when any classroom may seem chaotic, but because the students are totally engaged and internally motivated on what they are working on, the hustle and bustle in the room is the excitement of the students!
Good luck at the conference everyone!
What about those self-motivated?
Genre Practice seems to be focused around the idea of motivating students through freedom and authenticity. I realize that, at least in part, this program was established around the idea that students at PS 126 were not self-motivated. I wonder, how would this work with students who are self-motivated already? Would it be unnecessary to have such an environment because students are already accepting of their role as student? Or is it still beneficial to them, possibly improving their efforts and motivation? I see no doubt that it would benefit them in terms of developing responsibility, I am just curious about the other aspect.
I have been learning all
I have been learning all about Genre Practice through my grad courses at NYU. It really is hard to believe what the teachers at PS 126 have been able to accomplish through the application of Genre Practice in their reading and writing workshops. It really is helpful that the teachers at this school have each other for support and have the support of their principal.
I wish more schools would start using Genre Practice because it truly helps kids learn to love reading and writing.
Motivating
I think that it was really important to hear from different teachers with different experiences to talk about genre practice because it really gave me insight on how to modify my teaching to integrate this type of practice in my classroom. It's definitely hard to accept and envision at first because I'm so accustomed to the "traditional" concepts in literacy - guided reading, shared reading, read aloud, word study - and that has been taught from the beginning of my studies in college. What was really motivating was how you acknowledged your principal's support for her teachers during "the rocky transition". Being able to get through that is crucial because it'll determine how you feel about teaching in my opinion. I think it's great there's so much support in an environment that really fosters autonomy and engagement in learning. Those elements are crucial to students.
Setting High Expectations
Once I read your post, it struck me that we begin our educational careers as wanting to be able to motivate our students. We hope that we will instill in our students the power and enthusiasm to learn, and yet many students dread coming to school. I began to ask myself, why? After reading your post I realized that Genre Practice, allows students to become active participants in their learning, and that can bring the excitement back. When students are given the freedom, the responsibility, and the agency within their own learning, we are then allowing them to rise to our high expectations. As I am beginning my masters program at NYU, I am realizing the true power of Genre Practice. I look forward to reading more of your posts and hope to gain more insight about what is occurring within the field.
overview of genre practice
Dear Jennifer Brown,
I really enjoyed reading your post. It was a great way to concisely explain what genre practice was all about and to be reminded of what happened at the conference. It is so great to know that P.S. 126 is embracing genre practice and that it is making great changes to the school and to the students progress in reading and writing. It seems that it really fosters a tight knit community. I hope that more schools catch wind of this method and that it begins to grow in popularity so that I ,too, can work in a school that offers the students more responsibility and freedom. You and all the teachers at p.s. 126 are pioneering a great method and I wish you all luck.
-Rossana Rega
Engaging!
-Jenn
Genre Practice
I really like the three distinctions you pointed out on genre practice - freedom, responsibility, and engagement. It really sums up the core and motive of what genre practice seems to entail. It definitely is something different than any practice I've seen - it truly seems to practice a student-centered learning environment. It's amazing to be a teacher and just step back and watch your children create their own learning and be excited at the same time.
I hope more and more schools being to adopt Genre Practice and steer away from the commercialized curriculum - ultimately giving every child the rich education they deserve.
reflection
I am new to the concept of Genre Practice, so I appreciated your overview. I especially liked how you included that the principal spoke of how the students met the state test standards. The theory sounds intriguing, but as a teacher, I always wonder how (and if) it will ultimately affect my students' achievement. There always seems to be a new current trend in education and new curriculum coming to the table, so it is helpful to hear that the Genre Practice theory has evidence that it is effective.
I also connected with the quotes you included about agency and social interaction. I felt like I have always given my students agency by allowing them to choose their own topic within the specific confines of the genre I have given them. The agency given by genre practice appears to give children choice beyond what I have ever allowed in my own classroom. The idea of social interaction as being integral to writing is also new for me. I admit that I generally have a quiet classroom during writing workshop time to allow students "quiet time" for thoughts. What a paradigm shift for me to see that children's writing improves (not deteriorates) when they are interacting with their peers! Thank you for your summary of the conference for those of us who were not there and who are eager to learn more about Genre Practice.
Genre practice
I really like the idea of genre practice. I am currently an undergrad studying early childhood and special education, and this is the first time that I've read about this specific approach to reading. I love the idea that students can choose what they read and write about. I think that it is so empowering for them and even this little bit of control can go a long way. I know that had I been given more choices as a student when I was younger I definitely would have enjoyed reading more. Reading becomes so much more powerful and meaningful when what the student is reading is something they are personally invested in. And, hopefully, this positive experience leads them to want to read and learn more and the positive cycle or reading and loving to read continues. Thank you so much for sharing this post!
On Freedom and Choice
My background is both as an elementary-school teacher and an editor of children's magazines at Scholastic. I was lucky enough to attend the first day of the conference back in the spring. My company allowed me to attend with the agreement that I would report back about how students in a NYC public schools were using magazines in the classroom.
After a day of observations and vigorous note-taking, I digested all of the information I gained from my day at P.S. 126. I later compiled and shared a Powerpoint Presentation of my findings. To my surprise, my colleagues weren't interested in how a fourth-grade teacher used an article in Dog Fancy; rather, they were completely in awe when I described the freedom and choice that Genre Practice afforded the children. "Wait, so thy children are the ones who pick their own groups?" one colleague clarified. Another couldn't believe children could pick their own texts.
From my one day at P.S. 126, I saw the possibilities and opportunities for literacy instruction when the teacher loosens her grip on the wheel, lets the children do some of the steering... and both enjoy the ride.
Thank you for sharing.
Dear Jennifer M. Brown,
Since I did not have a chance to participate the first Genre Practice Conference, it was really good to know how the conference was held, and your posting was helpful to confirm the Distinctions of the Genre Practice Classroom. Actually, as I read teachers’ blogs on this site, I could see how they followed the distinctions-Freedom, Responsibility, and Engagement- in good ways. I think these concepts are very important for children’s development and they are successfully done by teachers’ intentional and appropriate supports. I am happy that I could know Genre Practice for my future experience.
Thank you for sharing.
Dear Yoto Ooka,
I'm glad that the teachers' blogs and the description of the first Genre Practice Conference helped to clarify the distinctions of the Genre Practice classroom from other teaching approaches. I think that as the new school year begins and teachers start to discuss what they're seeing in their classrooms, it will continue to become clearer how freedom, responsibility, engagement and agency (the children's independent choices about the work they pursue and how they pursue it) affect their diverse learning styles -- in positive ways.
Thanks for taking the time to write.
relating to development
Cynthia is my professor right now at NYU and we have learned a lot about genre practice from her these past two weeks. But the ability to see quotes from the conference really help to see how genre practice really relates to child development. They are learning responsibility, as well as engagement, which are such important life lessons and they are doing so at a young age. Developmentally these behaviors are so important to development. The more engaged the students are in the work the more they will want to do and ultimately the more they will learn. I find genre practice amazing in these aspects and look forward to reading and learning more about it.
Relating to Development
Dear Jess Merrihue,
I hope you'll get a chance to visit the classrooms at P.S. 126 while you're at NYU.
Nothing is more impressive than watching the students who are benefitting from the Genre Practice approach. As you said, they are completely engaged in their work, and from what I've witnessed, they definitely do learn more. Children who had struggled to master the English language, for instance, begin to see themselves as learners. It's very inspiring.
All best,
Jennifer