Runner Up: 2020 Skillful Teacher Video Contest: Gretchen Leckie-Ewing

Ms. Leckie-Ewing leads her class through a discussion of John Donne's poem, "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning." The discussion is student-led and showcases several moves from Making Student Thinking Visible including Agree/Disagree, Compare Thinking, Explain, Restate, Persevere, Allow Struggle, Avoid Judgment, and Add on.

In Ms. Leckie- Ewing's words:

"Students read a poem for homework. The lesson is a whole-group discussion of John Donne's poem, "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning." It is a difficult poem that students often struggle to understand. We will be modeling the process of figuring out difficult verses. The teacher is using many of the MSTV Operating Principles. The video demonstrates Agree/Disagree, Compare Thinking, Explain, Restate, Persevere, Allow Struggle, Avoid Judgment, and Add on. Every student participated in the discussion even if the 10-minute clip does not demonstrate such. It is interesting to note that one of the students (to the left of the teacher) has a misreading that he is reluctant to give up. He eventually has to yield to the logic of his classmates' arguments. This particular student is not used to being wrong."