Prepared for the Mathematics, Science and ELL PLC of
Deer Valley Middle School by Dan Mulligan, Ed. D.
January 2010
Educating EACH Child: Strategies that Work!
Sustaining Growth in Student Achievement
According to research conducted by NWREL (Northwest Regional Education Laboratory), sustaining growth in student achievement is contingent on one key factor:– The professional staff responsible for learning
identifies the strategies (actions) that contributed to the gains in student achievement.
– The staff then refines the implementation of these factors by meeting periodically throughout the year to evaluate the success of the strategies.
Problem Solving ProcessDefine the Problem
Defining Problem/Directly Measuring Behavior
Problem AnalysisValidating Problem
Identify Variables that Contribute to Problem
Develop Plan
Implement PlanImplement As Intended
Progress MonitorModify as Necessary
EvaluateResponse to
Intervention (RtI)
There are three parts to any research-based
lesson:• Beginning – ‘check for’ and
‘build’ background knowledge of each student;
• During – teach and actively engage each student in new content – making connections to prior knowledge;
• End – check for understanding - provide each student with an opportunity to summarize (in their own way) and practice the essential knowledge and skills conveyed in the lesson
Give One … Get One …
On your handout, write one strategy or practice that you have implemented since the December session. Think and be creative.
When signaled, circulate the room to meet a colleague. Give him/her your answer and get their answer.
You need a total of 2 answers. You may not get more than one idea from an individual. When you have completed your task, return to your seat.
Enjoy!
Opportunity to Learn
Three types of math curricula were identified by SIMS:The Intended Curriculum: content/skill specified by the state, division, or school at a particular grade level.The Implemented Curriculum: content/skill actually delivered by the teacher.The Attained Curriculum: content/skill actually learned by the students.
Intended Curriculum
Implemented Curriculum Attained
Curriculum
Has the strongest relationship with student achievement of all school-level factors.
Content-Related Evidence of Validity(Intended Curriculum)
Essential
Skills
Essential
Knowledge
Essential
Vocabulary
ASSESSMENTTARGET
(content validity)
The Helicopter Dilemma
Category Ave. Effect
Size (ES)
Percentile Gain
Identify similarities & differences
1.61 45
Summarizing & note taking 1.00 34Reinforcing effort & providing recognition
.80 29
Homework & practice .77 28Nonlinguistic representations .75 27Cooperative learning .73 27*Setting objectives & providing feedback*
.61 23
Generating & testing hypotheses
.61 23
Questions, cues, & advance organizers
.59 22
Generating and Testing HypothesesProblem Solving
Approaches to this strategy in the classroom:– Giving students a model for the process,– Using familiar content to teach students the steps
for problem solving
What does it look like? Steps for problem solving:– What am I trying to do?– What things are in my way?– What are some of the things I can do to get around
these things?– Which solution seems to be the best?– Did this solution work? Should I try another solution?
Collecting
QUALITATIVE
Data
Checking for background knowledge:
What is a hieroglyphic?
American Heritage Dictionary - hi·er·o·glyph·ic, adj. Of, relating to, or being a system of writing, such as that of ancient Egypt, in which pictorial symbols are used to represent meaning or sounds or a combination of meaning and sound. Written with such symbols.
FOUR-SECOND PARTNER
Steps:1. Find a person currently not seated next to you.
Make friends
2. This person is now your FOUR-SECOND PARTNER!
EyesYear’s of experience at your school
0 – 1 years 2 – 10 years More than 10 years
NoseDepartment attention to including cognitive skills in questioning
Limited Moderate Exceptional
MouthEvidence of differentiation in lessons
Limited Moderate Exceptional
HairUse of formative assessments in your content area.
Little or none Pockets of change
Large scale action
Getting to Know YOU!!!
Momentous DiscoveryWhen teachers regularly and
collaboratively review assessment data for the purpose of improving practice to reach measurable achievement goals, something magical happens.
Michael Fullan
“If you don’t know where you are and you don’t know where you are going, anything you do will get you there”
HUNT for SOLUTIONS
1. The percent of ALL students graduating on-time in the Class of ‘07.
2. The percent of HISPANIC students graduating on-time in the Class of ‘07.
3. According to the Silent Epidemic, the percent of U.S. dropouts who felt they were ‘too far behind’ by the end of elementary school.
4. The percent of WHITE students graduating on-time in the Class of ‘07.
5. The percent of ELL students graduating on-time in the Class of ‘07.
6. The percent of POVERTY students graduating on-time in the Class of ‘07.
7. The percent of ALL students PASSING the GRADE 8 SCIENCE AIMS test in ’09.
8. The percent of ALL students PASSING the GRADE8 MATH AIMS test in ‘09.
86
73
51
90
49
74
52
In Deer Valley Unified Schools:
60
SOLUTIONS (S): 49, 51, 52, 60, 73, 74, 86, 90
Thinking Goes to SchoolHunt for Solutions
1. Designed to check for background knowledge and already acquired knowledge (differentiation tool).
2. Fosters team-talk at higher levels of thinking (by providing solutions before questions).
3. Provides ENGAGEMENT (MIND before Movement).4. Becomes a formative assessment if after the teaching/learning,
students can evaluate and adjust - as needed – answers.5. Primary Goal: Students (including at-risk) experience success
(Yes…they can!!!)
Task: Create a ‘Hunt for Solutions’ that can be used tomorrow. Work with 1 team member to (1) select a content area, (create 2 or 3 questions to check for background knowledge and 3 or 4 questions that check for already acquired knowledge.
The average student talks 35 seconds a day.The student who is talking is growing dendrites.
BLIND SEQUENCING
Waiting for the Train
Good Instruction(Keep it Simple…Keep it Real)
“Good instruction is good instruction, regardless of students’ racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic backgrounds. To a large extent, good teaching – teaching that is engaging, relevant, multicultural, and that appeals to a variety of modalities
and learning styles – works well with ALL children.”
Educating Everybody’s Children, ASCD, 1995.
Category Ave. Effect
Size (ES)
Percentile Gain
Identify similarities & differences
1.61 45
Summarizing & note taking 1.00 34Reinforcing effort & providing recognition
.80 29
Homework & practice .77 28Nonlinguistic representations .75 27Cooperative learning .73 27*Setting objectives & providing feedback*
.61 23
Generating & testing hypotheses
.61 23
Questions, cues, & advance organizers
.59 22
Summarizing and Note TakingApproaches to this strategy in the classroom:– Teaching students the rule-based summarizing
strategies,– Using summary frames, and– Teaching students reciprocal teaching and group-
enhanced summary.What doe it look like?– Take out material that is NOT important for
understanding,– Take out words that repeat information,– Replace a list of things with a word that describes the
things in the list (e.g., use trees for elm, oak, and maple).
– Find a topic sentence. If you cannot find a topic sentence, make one up.
Summarizing and Note TakingGeneralizations form the research:– Verbatim note-taking is, perhaps, the least
effective technique.– Notes should be considered a work in
progress.– Notes should be used as a study guide for
tests.– The more notes that are taken, the better.
C O V E R
Allow students to personalize their notebook with a cover collage.Preserve with packing tape.
Tabl
e of
Con
t ent
Sam
p le s
MIND Notebook Rubric
Experiencing a MIND Notebook
What is a MIND Notebook?
A personalized, clear textbookA working portfolio -- all of your notes, classwork, etc. -- in one convenient spot
NOTE: a MIND notebook does not take the place of an engaging lesson. It is a
powerful summarizing activity.
Left Side – Right Side Orientation
Right SIDE
Right side items are items from the teacher and text
to be . . .
REMEMBERED
Left SIDE
Left side items are what the student has . . .
LEARNED
Right Side
Right is for content that is to be remembered!The right side “belongs” to the teacher and the text.The right side has “testable” information.
“Insanity: the belief that one can get different results by doing the same thing.”
-Albert Einstein
RECALL
CREATE
CONNECT
RELATE
Arizona Standards Verbs PROBLEM SOLVING
Analyze Derive Discover Evaluate ExplorePredict Solve Survey Verify Investigate
REASONINGCategorize Classify Compare ContrastDifferentiate Describe Estimate Explain Generalize InterpretJustify Order Hypothesize Predict InferPrioritize Rank Validate Summarize
COMMUNICATIONClarify Correspond Describe Discuss Demonstrate ExhibitExplain Express Persuade PortrayRestateShow Speak State Write
Why use them?Higher-level thinking– Expand student thinking skills
AnalyzingSynthesizingEvaluatingRelating and developing conceptsCategorizingSequencingComparing and contrasting
– Get to higher levels of Bloom’s
WHO AM I ?
Questioning StrategiesThink TimeQuestion ExchangeJournalingNumbered HeadsJigsawLearning CentersTimed Pair ShareWriting and Discussing
Beating the Odds
366 high-poverty schools in 21 states beat the odds and reached exceptional levels of achievement by using “monitoring systems … for providing ongoing analysis of student achievement data”Equally important, teachers at these schools met regularly – monthly or more often – to discuss student performance against state standards in order to reach measurable goals.
~ EdTrust study, 1999
Common Characteristics of High Achieving Schools (90/90/90)
Focus on academic achievementClear curriculum choicesFrequent assessment of student progress and multiple opportunities for improvementAn emphasis on writingExternal scoring
Words Heard in an Hour
Poverty: 615 words
Middle class: 1251 words
Professional: 2,153 words
Hart and Risley, 1995