Productive struggle happens when students face a challenge that’s just tough enough to make them think, but not so hard that they shut down. It’s that sweet spot where learning happens. In a literacy classroom, this might look like a student working through a tricky text or figuring out how to decode a tough word. Sure, it’s not always comfortable, but that’s where the magic happens—when they push through the discomfort and find the solution on their own.

Dos:

1. Ground your advice in YOUR personal experience. Be vulnerable.

2. Connect that experience to practice and research. 

3. Be conversational. Write like you speak. 

4. Ask clarifying questions to understand the context and establish your sincere interest in the teacher’s question. 

5. Dignify a careful question with a careful response. Take your time responding. 

6. Be specific. “Listen to Sold A Story!!!!!!” doesn’t count. 

7. Be nice and assume good faith. 

When we discuss and debate classroom practice, we should bring it into the light with artifacts and concrete examples from actual classrooms: videos, writing samples, assessments, worksheets, slides. I know that both sides would agree that what Sarah experienced in 7th grade ELA class was ineffective and soulless. And I’m also confident that both sides would celebrate classrooms like this one or this one or this one where the teachers are leveraging strategies to get students learning and thinking more deeply about the text they’re reading.