AskMeno

🎓 Calling all school leaders! 🎓

Did you know that teachers ask 400 questions a day, while students only ask a fraction of that? Let's change the narrative and empower our early learners to be more curious and inquisitive. 🌟

Discover how our innovative solution helps students ask more questions, fostering a culture of inquiry and discovery. Watch our latest video to learn more!

📽️ https://vimeo.com/981392882/f9cb8b8f74

AskMeno Head of School Testimonial This is "AskMeno Head of School Testimonial" by AskMeno on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

📚 Discover the impact of systematic language development in classrooms. Learn how AskMeno supports educators in fostering better communication skills. We see significant growth in language comprehension and communication, an essential component in Science of Reading models!

🌟 Unlock the potential of every young learner with AskMeno! Our platform enhances oral language and social skills through engaging, play-based learning.

Visit www.askmeno.com to learn more and schedule a demo today!

When it comes to early ed, what’s the difference between effortful control and executive functioning? Does it matter? Do they mean the same thing?

Effortful Control (EC) is one of three predictors of academic success.¹ In the Active View of Reading model, Executive Functioning (EF) is a core component of reading proficiency.² According to a study published by the American Psychological Association, EF skills are more critical for kindergarten readiness than entry-level reading, math, or even intelligence.³

So what is the difference?

According to the Executive Function Mapping Project, EF is primarily in the 𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 domain, while EC is primarily 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹. The attached image illustrates the difference between the simple and complex skills contained in each. Understanding skill complexity enables schools to target the right sub-components of each domain. This project further explains:

“Programs designed to build a single, simple skill should not be expected to have the same impact as programs designed to target multiple or more complex skills. For example, a program designed to build attention and working memory should not be expected to build more complex, multi-faceted skills such as emotion regulation or self-control.”

The fact is that there is a meaningful difference between Effortful Control and Executive Functioning. Why does this difference matter? Harvard University's Stephanie Jones explains:

“Without precisely and carefully aligning EF, EC, and other regulation-regulated skills, policy-makers, practitioners, and other stakeholders 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹-𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, thereby undermining efforts designed to improve outcomes for the country’s most vulnerable children.”⁴

Identifying and defining the skills that make up each key term determine instruction and intervention strategies that lead to the development of those skills.

Although this may seem overly technical, taking the time as a school district to evaluate your approach to developing these skills and ensuring the appropriate measures and interventions are in place can have an enormous impact. Our young learners are worth it!

How does your district address the differences between EF and EC?

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Sources:

¹ https://bit.ly/3VMyXKG
² https://bit.ly/3VGb0EB
³ https://bit.ly/45FXRju
⁴ https://bit.ly/3XDX00J

🎆 Happy Independence Day! 🇺🇸

Celebrate America's birthday with a fun historical twist! Did you know that George Washington was a huge fan of ice cream? He even brought ice cream-making supplies to the White House! 🍦

This 4th of July, meet our very own digital George Washington, an NLP-powered conversation engine designed to boost the quality and quantity of classroom discussions. Perfect for ELA and social studies, George helps students ask relevant, thought-provoking questions that align with educational standards.

Give your students the chance to engage with history in a whole new way. George Washington is here to make learning as delightful as a scoop of ice cream on a hot summer day!

A 2022 study analyzing read-aloud, multi-turn conversations in 93 Pre-K & Kindergarten classrooms found something the authors deemed “𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴”¹: Specific types of verbal scaffolding strategies beyond the common 3-turn conversation occurred in concerningly low numbers.

Because oral language is a key component in Science of Reading models and because verbally scaffolded conversations are the way oral language is most effectively developed, addressing these pedagogical gaps is paramount.

The authors of the study found that 7 verbal scaffolding categories were critically underused:

☝️𝗨𝗽𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴:

These are responses to learners who have answered the teacher's initial question 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 where the teacher’s next conversational turn involves a more 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 response.

Underutilized scaffolds:

– Causal effect questions
– Prediction questions
– Desire-based questions

👇𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴:

These are responses to learners who have answered the teacher's initial question 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 where the teacher’s next conversational turn involves a more 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 response.

Underutilized scaffolds:

– Eliciting/modeling
– Co-participating
– Downward factual questions
– Recasts

See the images for the 16 types and their definitions if you’re interested in learning more. Although this study only involves 93 classrooms, it represents a wider need that exists.

A study by Weadman et al. sums it up best, noting that early childhood teachers' “strong willingness to support preschool children's oral language and emergent literacy skills may be hindered by 𝗴𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲; these may contribute to important and 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 for identifying and supporting preschoolers’ oral language and emergent literacy growth.”²

What upward or downward scaffolds do you find most underused in the classroom?

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Sources:

¹ https://bit.ly/45oFzmI
² https://bit.ly/4ckfhnP

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 in the early learning classroom is central to learning. The 4- to 6-year-old engaged in asking questions, contributing ideas for solving problems, and actively listening to others builds a culture of relationships and belonging that activates a range of complex neural capacities necessary for emergent literacy.

For those looking to more intentionally develop and measure rich language classroom environments, I thought it would be helpful to show an inside look into our discussion-based language comprehension program for PK-1st Grade. The program consists of 25 assignments, each with 10 days of lessons about conversation and oral language development. Here's one of the assignments that incorporates evidence-based practices, data-driven differentiation, and fully leverages the teacher's unique expertise.

Visit: https://bit.ly/4e2sOSH

According to The National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning, 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲, or House Framework, necessary for school readiness¹.

Academic talk, or classroom conversation, represents the pinnacle of engaging interactions and high-quality classroom environments. Academic talk is more formal and uses many tier-2 and -3 vocabulary, longer sentences, and more complicated grammar.

Although early learning classes are full of talk, not all classroom talk is equally meaningful. Consider the range of classroom types on the conversation spectrum:

🗣️𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 (In a study of 20,000 classrooms, 89% of talking comes from the teacher. This classroom is heavily oriented around teacher talk. See more here: https://bit.ly/4c6hyTM)

🗣️𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀, 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 (Although there are many talk opportunities, they are unplanned and largely casual conversations.)

🗣️𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰, 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰, 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝗜𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝘆-𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 (Teachers intentionally plan for rich-language conversation opportunities using evidenced-based practices and make ample room for eliciting student inquiry as part of academic talk².)

Assessing and improving the classroom conversation climate begins with leadership prioritizing the necessary instructional infrastructure to support it.

Having a conversation count mindset enables schools to determine if every student is having at least 5 conversational turns per day (Strive-for-five model: https://bit.ly/4aRFkSe) and to design effective activities to promote this. Additionally, there are students who require more scaffolding and frequent conversation practice in the classroom setting.

When schools intentionally plan for conversations throughout the day with each learner, studies have found that children exhibit greater gains in language development and academic domains compared to children in lower-quality classrooms³.

Refer to the image example of a classroom conversation planner to make the most of every talk opportunity.

Is your district strategically planning to enhance the early classroom’s foundation of the House Framework this upcoming school year?

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Sources:

¹ https://bit.ly/4e7H2Sd
² https://bit.ly/4e9uLgq
³ https://bit.ly/3KuHBba

Who remembers being stigmatized as the 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀?

While there may be kids more naturally introverted than others, very few are truly quiet children. Once that “quiet child” in class is in an environment at home or with close friends, conversation becomes more common. Unfortunately, once that label is given, that student inevitably gets 𝗳𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻. The challenge is fostering a conversation-rich, equitable, and trusting class environment.

It's no surprise that after 200+ studies examining the essence of great teaching in early education, researchers discovered that educator-child interactions are the primary way to ensure the highest quality learning experiences in early childhood education.¹

There's no substitute for building a trust relationship with kids. What if classrooms not only excelled in teacher-child interactions but also in a peer-to-peer culture of acceptance and support?

In a 2024 academic journal article, a framework was proposed for enabling early-learning teachers to explicitly teach classroom discussion norms. It includes micro-lessons that model and practice the norms of group discussion that involve role-playing good and bad conversation and the language of acceptance.² That sounds like a recipe for bringing the “quiet kids” out of their shells.

Miriam Plotinsky, an Instructional Specialist with Montgomery County Public Schools, shared:

“When kids who have not been accustomed to speaking up 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱, a more profound connection with their sense of scholarship will grow right along with their confidence, ultimately resulting in heightened achievement.”³

One of my favorite stories about a shy student coming alive in class is the story of a kindergartener named Summer. When presented with our virtual character experience, Summer went from a shy student who asked zero questions to becoming the most conversant, curious student of her cohort (see graph image).

How do you unlock the voice of the quiet learners?

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Sources:

¹ https://bit.ly/45ctYXC
² https://bit.ly/3KueaWR
³ https://bit.ly/4aMd1oo

Measuring the language comprehension component of Science of Reading models in the early grades is really a matter of 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.

It’s great to see the increasing use of language screeners and early language assessments, but we are only at the beginning of measuring the health of classroom conversation environments.

Every classroom has a conversation routine framework, developed or underdeveloped. The more district leaders prioritize measuring and fostering classroom conversation routines, the more students develop the skills necessary for reading success.

Here’s an example of where and how a classroom can have healthy conversation routines in place:

𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀:

🗣️Guided play (outdoor or indoor)
🗣️Meal time (snack or lunch)
🗣️Morning Meeting

𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀:

🗣️Interactive, dialogic read-alouds with both teacher- and student inquiry
🗣️Whole groups
🗣️Small groups

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼:

Teacher-learner conversation
➡️ Have five or more conversational turns with at least three learners¹
➡️ Implement upward or downward conversation scaffolding
➡️ Use concrete and/or abstract questions

Peer-to-peer conversation
➡️ Turn and talk conversation starters, like "Turn to a partner and discuss your favorite dessert" or "What animals do you see in the clouds?" (Important front-loading: Class norms of conversation model²)

Tracking tips:
💡Pull from popsicle sticks with the student's name on them to have multi-turn conversations
💡Use a Conversation Routine Tracker like the one in the images below
💡Use a Chat Planner for each student indicating whether upward or downward scaffolds were used³
💡Use AskMeno’s virtual character conversation engine and toolkit to develop and track whole and small group conversations⁴

What conversation routines would you add to the tracker?

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Sources:

¹ https://bit.ly/4c2Tl0M
² https://bit.ly/3KMHQPh
³ https://bit.ly/3VObdab
⁴ https://bit.ly/3z47HQ6

Of the many challenges facing the early childhood and elementary classroom, 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝟯 𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 seems to be one of the biggest:

🍞 Evidenced-based best practices that apply consistently across all students (because of how our brains are wired as humans)

🥜 Data-driven differentiated instruction based on student outcomes (John Hattie is a big proponent of this student outcomes-based approach¹)

🍇 Leveraging the teacher's unique strengths, expert intuition, and skill sets

It's difficult to get the recipe right: a highly-scripted classroom might excel at best practices but leave little room for a teacher's use of his or her strengths. Or the classroom might rely heavily on the teacher's expertise and experience, but fail to make use of data-driven differentiation or evidenced-based practices (For an example, see: https://bit.ly/4bDbUZa).

No curriculum can replace a teacher, and no AI can properly administer best practices. The student-teacher relationships and quality interactions are the peanut butter, data-driven differentiation is the grape jelly, and best practices are the bread that holds the PB&J together.

Let's be leaders and masters of making the literacy PB&J for this upcoming generation. Every PB&J doesn’t need to be the same. You can cut it into a dinosaur shape, in triangles, or simply eat the whole thing uncut! I personally like adding honey and banana slices.

How does your district make literacy PB&Js? What other literacy ingredients would go well?

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Sources:

¹ https://bit.ly/3WYjrgI

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