57: From Framework to Protocol

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This link will only work if you’re logged into Echo.  Sorry, non-New Tech readers.  If you have more questions, you can tweet Jim May at @jimamay.

 

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Why have a focus area for change:
  • we get better SPECIFICALLY, not GENERALLY
Finding a Focus Criteria:
  • related to STUDENT LEARNING
  • emerges from multiple sources of data
  • politically feasible
  • advances school’s mission & purpose
 
The Framework can be used to classify types of focus areas:
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Caveats:
  • If focus is not shared enough – don’t know where to look to see if it’s working
  • Hope is not a strategy
  • Principal can not be the only source of feedback (need to leverage peer feedback)
Guiding Questions
  • What are the unique challenges that relate to focus area? Evidence of these?
  • What are the unique strengths we already possess relating to focus area? Evidence of these?
  • What do possible strategies and outcomes look like?
  • How will we observe and measure outcomes related to focus area?
From focus to strategy:  Sources:
  • experts in the field,
  • reading literature,
  • disciplined experimentation of new strategies
 
Strategies (Goor characteristics):
  • Can have multiple activities that share one focus area
  • Addresses both technical and adaptive elements
  • Increases learning of stakeholders related to focus area
Driver diagrams: 
  • displays primary drivers (red) and related factors (blue) that connect to focus area (green);
  • can be used to brainstorm strategies (lavender) that relate to focus areas
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Testing and Learning from Strategies:
  • Use student work as primary source of evidence
  • Analyze student work using specific question(s) related to focus area
  • Examine the learning task that led to the student work
  • Keep time between analysis and action very short
  • Try to link data directly to improving practice
  • Use data analysis to develop a deeper shared understanding of focus area
 
Designing & Interpreting Data Inquiries:
  • data related to specific questions tied to focus area
  • shared knowledge base that can be used to make analytical decisions about data
  • create artifacts that anchor sense making
  • impose structure on data to make meaning of it

 

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School change is hard, but vital.   Developing and implementing processes for setting, implementing, learning from, and revising school change goals is vital to maintaining and improving the quality of PBL schools.  Having a specific focus related to student learning that is backed by data derived from student work helps schools select focus areas that serve their primary clients, the students, and their primary mission, learning.

 

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Preparation Steps
  • Brainstorm possible focus areas using criteria above.
  • If needed, gather more data related to potential focus areas.
  • Analyze school structures that relate to focus area (drivers).
  • Research & develop potential strategies for improving and learning more about focus areas.
  • Identify evidence that can be used to assess potential strategies.
  • Develop a data inventory that describes all the data sources that will be used to investigate focus area, when these will be gathered, how to access these, and ideas for how to interpret these.
Early Implementation Steps
  • Implement strategies.
  • Use pre-planned evidence gathering strategy, to collect student work that can be interpreted to learn more about focus area.
  • Create data summaries that make sense of data and provoke interesting conversations.
  • Have regular data meetings focused on making sense and developing key questions from data related to focus area.
Advanced Implementation Steps
  • Involve students and alumni in key committees that select focus areas and that interpret and learn from data.
  • Use student panels to gain more qualitative data that relates to other data sets collected to investigate focus area.
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53: Coaching Lenses

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Coaching Lenses
Inquiry Lens:
  • Values questions, multiple sources of data
  • Problem solving
  • Admits to not knowing everything
  • Aware of assumptions and limitations
  • Concerned with the quality of the question
Change Management Lens:
  • How will change be made?
  • What conditions are needed to create change?
  • Is change possible?
  • Analysis of change conditions
  • Strengths and gaps of current climate
  • Identify and leverage change opportunities
  • What incentives, resources, and skills are needed to promote change?
Systems Thinking Lens:
  • Schools (and classrooms) are interconnected complex systems
  • Systems have logical outcomes
  • Conflict is natural
  • Complexity and diversity are healthy
  • What are the stuck points and energy sources in the system?
Learner Lens:
  • More experienced learners have more starting and sticking points
  • Considers prior knowledge and experiences of learners
  • Sets realistic important objectives that involve direct concrete applications
  • Provides individualized feedback
Systematic Oppression Lens:
  • Prejudice is a notion based on limited information
  • Racism is a product of beliefs and systems that are situated in history, economy, politics and society
  • Who has power (and not)?
  • How does power affect the truth?
  • How does power affect safety?
  • Who’s missing from the leadership?
Emotional Intelligence Lens:
  • Self awareness and self management
  • Social awareness and relationship management
  • Can ask for help and receive feedback
  • Adaptable and flexible
  • Can manage stress
  • Can identify beliefs
  • Welcomes change
  • Reacts well to setbacks
  • Can empathize
  • Can identify social networks and power relationships
  • Can create safe environments
  • Can appear to various learners
  • Good at conflict management
  • Can collaborate well
Recommended read:

 

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This list of lenses was initially intended for instructional coaches, but also applies well to PBL facilitators.  To successfully manage a PBL environment, PBL educators need to play many roles besides teacher.  They need to model and teach 21st century skills.  They need to be effective leaders and good project managers.  They need to learn how to groom student leaders.  The lenses make the many roles of PBL educators more explicit.  Knowing these lenses and the different approaches that go with each can help PBL educators apply the right skills and tools to the right problems.

 

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Preparation Steps
  • Reflect to identify which lenses one applies often and why
  • Reflect to identify lenses that one applies well (and not) and the impacts of those strengths and gaps
  • If gaps might have negative consequences on teaching, research strategies to mitigate those gaps
  • Identify how one uses strengths in lenses to solve problems.  Brainstorm and research ways to extend those strengths
  • Identify a worthwhile problem that one can solve or learn more about by applying 1 (or more) of the lenses
  • Use different perspectives to develop hypotheses and potential solutions to focus problem
Early Implementation Steps
  • Trial solutions or gather data related to hypotheses in the classroom
  • Reflect on how solutions work (or not) or how gathered information supports (or does not support) conjectures based on looking at the problem from different lenses
Advanced Implementation Steps
  • Recruit thought partners who are strong in lenses that are your gaps
  • Ask how thought partners see your focus problem and what insights they have – develop conjectures and possible solutions related to these
  • Teach lenses to students when the perspectives build into these lenses can help them think in ways that develop their understandings and their products

 

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50: Building Data Summaries

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Tips for Data Summaries & Data Discussions:
  1. Decide on educational questions
  2. Simpler is better (data summary)
  3. Start conversation with an interesting comparison
  4. Facilitate constructive conversation
 
Tips on Creating Data Displays
  1. Decide on questions that guide graph designs – identify independent and dependent variables in the questions
  2. Choose graph type that best displays the relationship between the independent and dependent variables
    • bar charts – independent variable is a category
    • scatter plots – when independent and dependent variables are both quantitative
    • pie charts – when dependent variable measures percentage or fraction of a whole
  3. Select graph type that address the question clearly and effectively
  4. Reorganize graphs or tables to draw attention to critical comparisons
    • despite measurement error, group comparison can still be useful to highlight interesting features in overall performance
  5. Label graphs to make independent and dependent variables clear
  6. Where possible – use district software to create appropriate data displays
Components of Good Displays
  • explicit informative title that points toward critical element in the chart
  • clear axis labels
  • information pertinent to key questions are the most prominent features in the graphs
  • keep graphs free of extraneous detail
  • communicate what groups are being compared in graphs and data sources in graphs
Leading effective data discussions: important to give time for stakeholders to process and make own sense of data and ask own questions
  1. Give time for stakeholders to puzzle over the data
  2. Pair share what they noticed from studying the data
  3. Encourage stake holders to value questions over conclusions.  Brainstorm provocative questions that go with the data.
  4. Identify most important questions
  5. Brainstorm data needed to answer the key questions

 

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Knowing how to make clear and clean data displays is a necessary preparation step to having good data conversations that are based on actual data trends and comparisons.   Letting data stimulate the development of important questions is a hopeful, learning exercise that invites stakeholders to approach data as learners rather than as evaluators.

 

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Preparation Steps
  • Decide on important educational questions
  • Identify key independent and dependent variables in the questions
  • Create data displays that effectively display relationships between independent and dependent variables
  • Make sure graphs have titles and axis labels that clearly indicate the data sources and data variables in the graph
  • Reorganize data to make interesting comparisons between different student populations
Early Implementation Steps
  • Facilitate data discusion
    • give stakeholders individual time to investigate and brainstorm questions from the data
    • give stakeholders time to share questions with a partner and prioritize questions
    • prioritize questions as a large group
    • brainstorm ways to address key questions
Advanced Implementation Steps
  • Use this process to develop and track student whole group goals that can be measured by data
  • Survey students to check that this process is helping them to feel like more empowered stakeholders in their own educations
  • Encourage students to gather more data (qualitative and quantitative) that addresses key questions

 

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49: Building Assessment Literacy

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Principles for Interpreting Assessment Results:
  • Sampling Principle of Testing – tests are not direct measures of mastery; conclusions about mastery in a domain are based on inferences drawn from a smaller sample
  • Discrimination – assessment items that discriminate, separate students who know from students who don’t; use these items to reveal differences that actually exist
  • Measurement error – many sources – examples: differences in questions, different student moods, etc.
  • Reliability – conditions that give consistent results
  • Score inflations – scores inflated by cheating, luck, etc ..
Accounting for Sampling & Measurement Errors:
  • Measures and attach error bands to test scores
  • Keep test scores in perspective – tests have limitations, they don’t assess all important skills, course grades can not be compared across schools like standardized tests
Different Ways of Reporting Performance:
  • Beware of raw scores – not normalized for difference of questions between tests
  • Norm referenced tests – PRO: results are normalized by results of all testers, CON – improvements are easy near bottom and harder near the top
  • Criterion referenced tests – measure mastery of specific skills, PRO – gives specific information CON – vulnerable to sampling errors due to small number of questions per skill
  • Standards-Referenced tests – tests based on content / performance standards.  PRO – gives specific information relating to standards CON – vulnerable to sampling errors due to small number of questions per skill
Trade-Off
  • Reliability vs detail – more detail tends to smaller sample sizes which tend to be less reliable
    • it’s risky to draw conclusions from small sample sizes – e.g. standards assigned to only 1 – 2 questions on a test
How to Measure Improvement
  • Cohort-to-cohort – compares same grade, different students – CON – susceptible to demographic biases
  • Value-added, longitudinal – compares same students are different times – CON – susceptible to a lot of error PRO – works well with cumulative subjects
Strategies for Interpreting Data
  1. Look beyond 1 year with cohort-to-cohort or value-added data
  2. Compare results to relevant district and state data
  3. Compare results to most recent assessments on similar standards
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Knowing sources of data error can teach one to use data selection, summarizing and interpretation strategies that minimize impacts of data error.  Teachers planning to investigate data with students need to know sources of data error in order to teach them to students and to teach students how to make careful interpretations of data.  Using the strategies for data above can help highlight important data features by using comparisons to relevant reference groups.

 

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Preparation Steps
  • Decide what data sources will be summarized.
  • Select methods for summarizing data that compare data to relevant reference groups – these can include comparisons to other schools, other districts, state scores and to the same students at another time in the school year
  • Script questions stakeholders (students) will use to investigate the data.  For more details, see this article.
  • Create data displays that provoke data discussion.  See this article for more details.
Early Implementation Steps
  • Facilitate data meeting with students that has them use reflection prompts to draw conclusions about data displays as individuals, in pairs, and as a whole group
  • Brainstorm with students how to further explore key questions and next steps for improving key trends
Advanced Implementation Steps
  • Gather feedback from students aimed at improving data conversations and use these to fine tune future discussions
  • Have students brainstorm data goals that can be measured with specific upcoming assessments
  • Have students brainstorm methods for gathering more reliable data related to group academic goals
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48: Building Data Organizations

1-sourcesChapter 1 in Boudett, Kathryn Parker., Elizabeth A. City, and Richard J. Murnane. Data Wise: A Step-by-step Guide to Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching and Learning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education, 2005. Print.

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This book was intended for school administrators.  I think it can also apply to teachers.  Here I summarize parts that are generalizable to all settings so that both teachers and administrators can benefit from the book.
Two Question to Ask:
  1. Are you satisfied with the way you capture info garnered from assessments?
  2. Are you satisfied with how you gather information from multiple data sources for your students?
Building Data Organization Steps:
  1. Build a data inventory: a chart or spreadsheet that organizes and lists all data sources that will be interpreted to improve student learning.  Columns on data inventory sheet could include:
    • data source name (hyperlinked)
    • content area
    • collection date(s)
    • students assessed
    • accessibility – how to get to the data
    • current data use
    • possible more effective use
  2. Build a Data Team(s)
    • identify well-connected stake holders who would be interested in investigating data to improve student learning
    • types of data teams:
      • organizing data – small team
      • interpreting data – big, collaborative effort – the more who are involved the larger number of stakeholders have ownership in school improvement
  3. Create a Schedule that Allows for Regular Collaborative Work
  4. Plan for Productive Meetings: 
    • establish norms – example – no blame, approach data as a learner
    • use protocols to structure conversations
    • adopt an improvement process: small groups analyze data charts and discuss what they notice, share key findings on chart paper, use structured protocol for formulating questions about why data looks like that, whole group – establish consensus on most important questions to address
    • plan agendas for meetings
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Organizing data teams to summarize data and organizing data meetings to interpret data and formula key questions from the data is a process that can improve student learning at the staff level and at the teacher student level.

 

Compiling a data inventory and writing out current and possible uses for data is an exercise that can make teachers and administrators more aware of how they are currently leveraging data and what they can possibly do to make more use of the data.

Teachers generate A LOT of data when they comply with school-wide grading expectations. Teachers can make more use of this data by creating compelling, summarizing data displays and using these displays to facilitate small and whole group discussions with students on data inferences, possible emergent questions, and possible followup experiments to further investigate or improve the data.  This process can make students feel like more valued stakeholders in the education process and could help students set and achieve individual and community level academic goals.

 

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Preparation Steps
  • Create a data inventory of past and upcoming data sources that are worth interpreting
  • Research and/or brainstorm protocols for discussing data
  • Create data displays that are compelling.  These could
    • NOT reveal confidential individual student data
    • show how learning of student group(s) evolve over time
    • mastery levels of student group(s) tied to key big ideas
  • Develop an agenda that has time for students to interpret data as individuals, in pairs, and as a whole group
Early Implementation Steps
  • Facilitate a project reflection (or semester reflection) that features the data discussion agenda developed above
  • Record key findings of students
  • Work with students to achieve consensus on key questions and methods to investigate these and possible next steps and methods to verify that these are working
Advanced Implementation Steps
  • Form a data organization group that includes students after running several data meetings.  This committee can advise teacher on how to summarize data that makes it more easy to identify compelling questions and trends
  • Survey students to check about whether or not data meetings are making them feel like more valued contributors to the learning community
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47: Confrontation Model

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Confrontation model:
  1. Name the issue.
  2. Specify examples of behaviors you want to change.
  3. Describe your emotions.
  4. Clarify stakes.
  5. Identify your contribution to the problem.
  6. Explain why you wish to resolve the issue.
  7. Invite response.
  8. Inquire into partner’s views.  Paraphrase them.
  9. Review what’s learned? where are we now?  what’s left unsaid?
  10. Make new agreement
For more difficult discussion tips, go to this article.

 

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Confrontations between teachers and students and between students and other students are inevitable parts of facilitating projects (and inevitable parts of traditional units as well).  Knowing how to handle these confrontations skillfully can help community members move past problems that people are often too scared to comfront.  This model can be taught and practiced by teachers and students to move past problems that are creating roadblocks in communication and collaboration.

 

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Preparation Steps
  • Use this model to script out a conversation related to a critical indiscussable
  • Ask for feedback on your script from a neutral partner
Early Implementation Steps
  • Use script to have difficult conversation
  • If it goes well, follow up on next steps in new agreements in conversation
  • If it doesn’t go well, reflect on what went poorly and how other strategies could have mitigated those factors
Advanced Implementation Steps
  • Teach the confrontation model to students.  Let students practice the model by role playing fake (but commonly arising) issues. Common issues include: team member is too bossy, team member is not contributing enough, team member is behind because she is often late or absent, etc.

 

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42: Coverage vs Uncoverage

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Coverage
  • coverage of surface details with little depth
  • treats all facts as discrete parts of equal value
  • teaching by mentioning
  • tends to cover up big ideas
  • Pitfalls to avoid:
    • taking textbook information at face value
    • using textbook as a syllabus
    • going through textbook in page order without regard for learning goals
    • assessing things as discrete pieces of information
Uncoverage
  • Learn ideas by testing them in various scenarios
  • Learn ideas by using them to organize other ideas, experiences, and data
  • Helpful practices: 
    • use textbook as a tool for finding information related to essential questions and enabling skills
    • read sections of textbook in a sequence that supports learning goals
    • supplement textbook with primary sources
    • let students conduct inquiry based work that culminates in a performance assessment
    • make abstract ideas real by using them to make sense of data and/or experiences
    • use dense statements in text as basis for essential questions
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Planning is not the same thing as harvesting. We promote student misunderstandings when we present knowledge as something to be apprehended as opposed to comprehended.

 

Teaching on its own can not produce understanding.  The learner must make active attempts to understand to develop understanding.  Only experts and highly gifted students can hear knowledge and immediately understand its meanings, applications, and implications on their own.  Teachers need to create risk-friendly environments and need to teach students to take risks while learning in order for students to conduct the tests and inquiries that build understanding.

 

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Preparation Steps
  • Early in the year and sprinkled throughout, conduct activities that promote and improve a safe positive risk-friendly learning environment
  • Analyze ideas and skills embedded in standards.  Analyze NOUNS and VERBS in standards.
  • Brainstorm and research scenarios that students can use to test their knowledge and skills
  • Select which of the 6 facets of understanding can get students to apply knowledge and skills at another level that facilitates deeper understanding
  • Decide on a logical sequence for scaffolding and assessing learning goals
  • Find textbook excepts and primary sources that support learning goals
Early Implementation Steps
  • Teach students how to read academic texts
  • Facilitate inquiry-based activities that provide opportunities to interpret or evaluate their knowledge and skills using experiences and/or data
  • Ask students to reflect on how abstract ideas relate to their research and experiences
  • Ask students to describe how they are connecting different concepts and skills to make sense of phenomena and to solve problems
  • Give students lots of formative feedback that inform them as to whether or not their uncoverage attempts are leading to accurate understandings
Advanced Implementation Steps
  • Develop criteria for coverage and uncoverage and ask students to evaluate learning activities using that criteria
  • Provide opportunities for students to use uncoverage criteria to design learning tasks they can use to explore material
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34: Classroom Management That Supports Responsive Teaching

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Classroom Management Strategies that Support Responsive Teaching
Managing Time:
  • Use homework, personal agendas, etc to balance need for whole class and self-paced instruction
  • Provide anchor activities (PBL project work) for students who finish early
  • Move slowly with differentiation – tackle one remediation and one topic at a time
Controlling Noise:
  • Provide and use signals for noise reduction
  • Teach students to monitor noise levels as needed
  • Use headsets or earplugs for students who need less distractions
Classroom Movement:
  • Use task and room charts to help students locate where they should be for what they are doing
  • Designate one student per team to gather materials
  • Make seating area that faces away from active parts of classroom for students who need freedom from distractions
Flexible Use of Classroom Space:
  • Experiment with ways to move furniture to create learning spaces
  • Use center-in-a-box – partitions on the floor that serve as designated work areas
  • Designate an independent working area for students who need extra practice or need to move ahead
Organizing & Distributing Resources:
  • Design a table or area for storing and distributing key materials
  • Use in-class folder filing system with student names, class periods, and team numbers
Monitoring Student Work:
  • Use checklists of criteria to record competencies and trouble areas
  • Record observations on sticky notes and store in a notebook that has at least 1 page dedicated per student.  Review notes at least once per month
  • Have students turn in work to designated physical and online locations
Make Time for Small Group Instruction:
  • Let students know when you are off limits and why
  • Establish experts who will answer questions while you are teaching small groups
  • Use materials already available to you for small group activities
  • Grade less daily work
  • Go slowly but deliberately to differentiate
  • Use guided practice, anchor tasks, personal agendas, centers, learning contracts, and other strategies and routines to help students work independently

 

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Responsive teaching needs to be supported by classroom management routines that are both orderly and flexible.  Research has shown that teachers who maintain orderly classroom environments are more likely to teach for meaning and understanding.  PBL work can be complex and chaotic.  Framing PBL work in terms of orderly routines and strategies can build student confidence.

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Preparation Steps
  • Investigate available classroom space.  Brainstorm different furniture configurations that will create different learning spaces.  Trial these spaces with students.
  • Create diagrams that represent positively-tested furniture configurations
  • Train students to move furniture between different configurations and the purpose of these configurations
  • Set aside storage areas and turn-in areas (online, physical) for students to turn in work
  • Survey students to see which noise reduction signals work best
  • Create checklists that describe skills and common errors related to key concepts
  • Pre-assess and assess students to determine who can serve as experts on select topics
  • Gather resources for small group instructions
Early Implementation Steps
  • Implement small group instruction that uses data to determine appropriate goals for specific learning groups
  • Implement system (includes experts and resources) that allow students to work independently while teacher is focused on small group instruction
  • Use formative and pre-assessments to let students know when they need to attend workshops and when they are workshop-exempt and can skip to project work
  • Make connections between workshops and good project work explicit so students understand the relevance of workshop
  • Grade less daily work – see Grading Smarter, Not Harder for ideas
Advanced Implementation Steps
  • Use tools such as Aurasma to add another virtual learning layer on top of areas of the room
  • Teach students how to use assessment data to set and track goals and plan related next steps – See Checks for understanding and Engaging students with data articles
  • Use tools such as Nearpod to let students know during workshops if they are understanding content as it is being presented
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32: Flexible Classroom Elements for Effective Responsive Teaching

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How to Change Several Classroom Elements as Part of Good Responsive Teaching
 
Time:
  • Negotiate extra time on tasks for students who work diligently, yet slowly
  • Compact or exempt advanced students on work related to topics they’ve already demonstrated mastery
  • Use stations, homework contracts, and learning centers to help students work on deficits on precursor skills
Space
  • Create a quiet zone in room where noise and visual stimuli are minimal
  • Post and use several seating arrangement charts so that students can rearrange room quickly
Resources
  • Collect textbooks at different lexile levels
  • Bookmark websites at different lexile levels and languages
  • Use audio and video clips to teach
Student Grouping
  • Use prearranged groups and established work areas so students know where to sit during group work time
  • Plan to use multiple group styles: homogenous, heterogenous, interest, and learning profile groups
Teaching Strategies
  • Teach with both part-to-whole and whole-to-part emphasis
  • Intersperse lecture with small group discussions.  See Writing breaks and Classroom Conversations articles.
  • Make connections between key ideas/skills and students’ cultures and interests.
Learning Strategies
  • Provide practical, analytical, and creative options for student work.  See differentiated curriculum charts article.
  • Provide tiered assignments and assessments
  • Encourage students to work alone or with a peer
  • Use expert (jigsaw) groups to teach key ideas
Teaching Partnerships
  • Have students perform all classroom functions that are not imperative for a teacher to perform
  • Survey parents for insights into students’ interests, learning preferences and needs
  • Work with other teachers, especially those who are good with Differentiated Instruction

 

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While “varying” instruction for responsive teaching, it’s good to know or be reminded of how many elements can be readily changed to meet students’ needs.  Also it’s important to know and experiment with how changing classroom logistics (use of space and time) can impact student learning.

 

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Preparation Steps
  • Recruit thought partners
  • Gather websites and textbooks at varied lexile levels and formats for upcoming projects
  • Decide what seating configurations work for different workshop types and activity types
  • Experiment early in the year with seating configurations before creating diagrams
  • Train students to switch classroom seating between seating configuration types
  • Label group work areas and other key work spaces
  • Set up and communicate a flexible due date policy
  • Pre-assess students to see who qualifies for compacting and exemptions
  • Set up student groups – heterogeneous for product groups and homogeneous for learning groups
  • Design menu of learning activities that will serve students in different learning groups
  • Develop good questioning sequences for facilitating workshops and for reflection prompts
  • Elect and train classroom officers who lead students in key classroom functions
  • Survey parents to learn about student interests, learning needs, and challenges
 
Early Implementation Steps
  • Use student team roles to make sure team members in heterogenous groups all have meaningful group tasks
  • Lead small group workshops to align to specific learning groups needs
  • Observe students to determine who qualifies for compacting, exemptions, and delayed dead lines
  • Use interest groups and learning groups to deliver workshops that match students’ needs & wants
  • Use stamping method (or similar tracking system) to give lots of formative feedback and to track that students are moving towards mastery in key topics
 
Advanced Implementation Steps
  • Consult students on strategies that can be implemented in the future to improve bridge between content and student needs and interests
  • Teach students how to effectively track their progress and select good next steps to meet academic and project goals
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28: Responsive Teaching: Essential Skills & Attitudes 2 of 2

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Develop Classroom Management Routines That Contribute to Success:
  • co-develop a system with routines that train students to self-manage themselves
  • General Strategies:
    • Have clear vision of outcomes of classroom management
    • Establish high expectations for smooth operation of classroom routines
    • Study routines to make sure they work
    • Have students reflect on routines and roles
    • Enlist students in facilitating routines whenever possible
    • Ensure that all students are involved in making the classroom culture work
Help Students Become Effective Partners in Their Own Success
  • Help students recognize their strengths, interests and challenges
  • Help students set and reach goals that take into account their interests, strengths and challenges
  • General Strategies:
    • Help students understand and see the benefits in their differences.
    • Nurture awareness of students’ strengths and the benefits of enhancing these.
    • Help students understand their weakness and how to remediate them.
    • Guide students in vocabulary related to metacognition and goal setting.
    • Ask students to reflect on their own growth and brainstorm next steps related to growth.  For more ideas, see this article on the power of mistakes and struggle.
    • Support students in setting and achieving personal goals.
Develop Flexible Classroom Teaching Routines:
  • Play with classroom logistics in order to enhance learning
  • General Strategies:
    • Allow for students’ different pacings
    • Gather basic and supplementary materials that appeal to students varied interests, cultures, lexile levels, etc.
    • Teach in a variety of ways
    • Ensure that grades reflect Growth as well as relative standing in the class
Expand a Repertoire of Instructional Strategies
  • Use multiple modes to teach content
  • General Strategies:
    • Use variety of strategies for teaching content and managing student work time
    • Use strategy that connect to students’ learning modes, interests, and readiness levels
    • Guide students to work with instructional approaches appropriately
    • Help students reflect on what strategies work for them and why
Reflect on Individual Progress with an Eye toward Curricular Goals & Personal Growth
  • Measure and reflect on student progress towards learning targets
  • General Strategies:
    • Use pre-assessments to help prepare common and individualized learning tasks
    • Use ongoing formative assessment to ensure as close a match as possible between learning activities and student needs
    • Track student growth relative to learning targets
    • Engage students in setting academic goals and achieving these
    • Reflect on individual and group growth in order to improve instruction
    • Help parents understand students’ growth relative to curricular goals
For more essential skills and attitudes go to: 28: Responsive Teaching: Essential Skills & Attitudes 1 of 2

 

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Co-developing classroom logistics with students can make them more aware of the rationale and benefits of these logistics.  This process will also empower students to feel like their opinions are valued.  Helping students set and achieve goals helps them become lifelong learners.  Better student self knowledge helps them to make choices that improve their learning and increase their independence.  Flexible classroom routines help different learners learn differently.  Improving logistics can make it possible to teach in multiple modes simultaneously.  Expanding strategy repertoires make it more likely to engage and reach all learners.  Reflecting on individual growth will help teachers and students develop individual growth plans needed for growth.

 

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Preparation Steps
  • Research classroom routines and logistics that promote positive learning culture and allow for multiple modes of learning at one time.
  • Define clear culture outcomes that will frame all classroom management norms and routines.
  • Brainstorm norms and routines with students that can achieve clear culture goals.  For examples of good norms, read this article.
  • Research multiple activities that can address learning targets.
  • Research and create goal setting lesson plans and goal setting tools for students.
  • Develop prompts that get students to reflect on their progress towards goals and the strategies that they are using to make that progress
Early Implementation Steps
  • Facilitate activities that let students co-develop classroom norms and routines that achieve clear culture outcomes
  • Have students regularly set goals, reflect on their progress towards these goals, and brainstorm next steps
  • Implement multiple modes of activities to teach learning targets
  • Have students reflect on what types of activities help them learn best
Advanced Implementation Steps
  • Teach students how to use the vocabulary of metacognition and goal setting to write reflections on their progress that can help them learn things that can improve their approaches to learning.  To learn more about thes learning strategies, go here.
  • Develop systems for keeping parents informed of individual students’ progress towards learning targets
  • Allow students to choose form a menu of learning tasks to achieve learning targets and reflect on whether or not their choice helped them to meet the target.  See differentiated curriculum charts.
  • Develop systems that teach students how to track their progress toward learning targets over time

 

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