Hi Lara,
It was great to see you at Kempsey Adventist School today. I just wanted to put into writing my thanks and feedback for a PD you ran at my last school, Henderson College, in 2014 (? I I think that was the year)
The PD was about Reciprocal Reading strategies and I recall it went over two days. We worked through some theory, and then very early on the first day, you asked us to drag some students out of class and practice immediately the strategies we had been taught. I was very nervous about this to begin with, but the time with the students was highly successful, and my sense of achievement went through the roof!
After the two day session, I applied the Reciprocal Reading strategies to my teaching practice. For example, I specifically taught the strategy to Year 10 English students in a reading/comprehension unit, with timed reading exercises. Since then, I have formally used the Reciprocal Reading strategy I was taught in various subjects across year levels. I have taught the technique successful to my own children. I have also taught it with multiple colleagues, and created a few resources that I use myself and pass onto others. (See below)
Your Reciprocal Reading PD was the most powerful professional development I have ever undertaken because it gave me practical skills I could apply in the classroom for significant gain in student performance.
Jotham Kingston
Kempsey Adventist School