Emily Trucks

Education 414
February 29, 2016
PLP Log
Date

Reflection

March 1st

Our group had our first meeting with Dr. Rogers to discuss Making Thinking Visible this
afternoon. We gathered in her office to discuss the first two chapters of the text. I led the
discussion by simply sharing the notes I had taken while reading and asking my PLC
members to respond with their thoughts. We learned a lot about what it means to make
student thinking visible, and why that act is so important. Dr. Rogers had a lot of
experience (and sweet treats) to share with us!

March 15th

Today, we had our second meeting in our study of Making Thinking Visible. Emily
Freeman led the discussion on the third and fourth chapters of the text. These chapters
discuss the different thinking strategies and how they are best put into practice in a
classroom setting. I appreciated getting to hear from each PLC member and Dr. Rogers
as we shared which strategies we would choose to implement and how we would best
use them. I am looking forward to inserting some of the strategies discussed into future
lesson plans.

March 29th

Our group had its third meeting in Dr. Rogerss office today, discussing the fifth and
sixth chapters of Making Thinking Visible. These chapters introduced us to several
strategies to implement when wanting students to organize, synthesize, and deepen their
thoughts on a particular topic or concept. Abby Thurston led us in a good conversation
about what we considered to be the best strategies and our own thoughts on
implementing them in the classroom. It was enlightening to hear my PLC members
discuss using these strategies in ways beyond those of which I had thought.

April 12th

We had our final meeting with Dr. Rogers today, discussing the last two chapters of
Making Thinking Visible. Hailey Pierson led us as we shared our thoughts on
implementing the books taught learning routines in the classroom. It was very
interesting to see the difference in our opinions from our time at Trace Crossings to our
time, now, in Birmingham City Schools. If we have learned anything from our time in
urban placements, it is that the strategies taught in this book, and in many others, should
be implemented intentionally to allow all students the opportunity to succeed.