High-Yield Strategies

September 2009

What are High-Yield Strategies?

High-yield strategies are strategies that have been proven through a combination of research and “best practice” evidence to contribute to improved student learning.

(The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat Webcast Professional Learning Series, High-Yield Strategies to

Improve Student Learning, May 2008)

Teacher Moderation/Collaborative Marking

This is a highly effective assessment strategy that involves teachers coming together to look at student work based on pre-determined assessment criteria.

By working together, teachers’ assessment practices become more aligned, professional

dialogue occurs and teachers gain confidence in their own ability to assess student work

accurately and fairly to improve student work.

Building trust among teachers is essential!

Teacher Moderation/Collaborative Marking

Some examples of Teacher Moderation include:

o DRA and CASI assessments (P/J/I)o Running Records (P)

o TLCPs (P/J/I)

The LNS Capacity Building Series , TEACHER MODERATION: COLLABORATIVE ASSESSMENT

OF STUDENT WORK, September 2007www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/

Uninterrupted Blocks of Literacy & Numeracy

Literacy Blocks ~ 100-120 minutesNumeracy Blocks ~ 60-75 minutes

BENEFITS• Allows teachers to optimize instruction• Provides students with sufficient time to learn and to process

information• Allows teachers to differentiate instruction• Allows teachers to implement ongoing instruction, as well as

student-based, open-ended activities that encourage higher-order thinking

LNS What Works? Research into Practice Series, LEARNING BLOCKS FOR LITERACY AND NUMERACY, May 2007www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/whatWorks.html

Ongoing Assessment & Feedback

The purpose of ongoing feedback is to inform students about their progress and what they can do to move their learning along.

Feedback should be timely, explicit/specific and focused on curriculum expectations.

Ongoing assessment also helps the teacher inform his/her own teaching

practice.

Assessment FOR, OF & AS Learning

FOR

OF

AS

Assessment AS learning needs to be our biggest focus.

Dr. Earl’s diagram best illustrates the difference between the three.

Assessment FOR, OF & AS Learning

• Assessment OF LearningThis is summative assessment. This type of assessment is the decision-making piece. This includes the collecting the evidence needed to make judgments and to report to parents and to students.

• Assessment FOR LearningTeachers use formative assessment to see what students are thinking and then decides what needs to be done. This is gathering data with a purpose in mind.

• Assessment AS LearningStudents can self-assess and decides NEXT STEPS through this

process. As teachers, we are encouraging students to be self-reflective and self-monitoring thinkers. We want them

to monitor their own progress toward achieving their learning goals.

Another way of thinking about ASSESSMENT …

Diagnostic Assessment the try out or the audition

Formative Assessment the practice or the rehearsal

Summative Assessment the game or the final performance

Every time you carry out an assessment, it is not a decision point, it is a TEACHING POINT!

(Dr. Lorna Earl)

WEBCAST: Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind, April 27, 2006, Dr. Lorna Earl, CSC

Points for Discussion

1. What do we, as teachers, need to do to ensure that students get the most out of feedback sessions?

2. What is the student’s role during feedback sessions?

3. What questions should we ask ourselves during the assessment process to

ensure that we are meeting the specific needs of

every student?

The Gradual Release of Responsibility Model

The teacher models the steps, provides support as the students

learn the steps. The teacher gradually shifts responsibility to the

students to apply the steps independently.

Differentiated Instruction

What is DI?Differentiated Instruction is based on the idea

that because students differ significantly in their interests, learning styles, and readiness, teaching strategies and

decisions involving issues of content, process, and product should vary

accordingly.(Tomlinson, Differentiated Instruction Model, 1999)

WEBCAST: Differentiated Instruction: Continuing the Conversation, March 29, 2006, CSC

Differentiated Instruction (cont’d)

Teachers must provide a variety of ways for ALL students to feel affirmed and challenged.

DI is student-centered.

Effective DI offers ALL students the opportunity to succeed from their individual points of entry.

Teachers must manipulate the program in order to maximize the potential

for ALL children to learn.

Differentiated Instruction

Instruction can be differentiated by…

CONTENT

PROCESS

PRODUCT

DI Instructional and Management Strategies

anchor activities (on-going) jigsawinterest centers, groups, and surveys small-group

instructionscaffolding literature circlesflexible groupings assessment (i.e. EXIT

CARDS)independent projects and study multiple intelligencestiered lessons, centers, and products adjusting questioning

strategies”May Dos” and “Must Dos” ”Points Quiz””Totally 10 Projects” ”Tic-Tac-Toe” or

MenusTechnology (i.e. WebQuests,

SMART Boards, computers)

GRAPHIC & VISUAL ORGANIZERS

o KWL Chartso Story Maps/Story Boards

o Venn Diagramo Fishbone/Cause and Effect

o Compare and Contrasto Problem-Solution Chart

o Timeline/Chain of Eventso Story Pyramid

o Brainstorming Webo Alphaboxeso Hamburger

o RAN Strategyo P-M-I

o Flowcharto Placemat

o Give ‘em a Hand

http://freeology.com/graphicorgs/http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=2983http://www.teachervision.fen.com/graphic-organizers/printable/6293.html

Accountable Talk

Accountable Talk is talk by students and their teacher that responds to and further develops what others in the classroom have said. It is focused, meaningful, and mutually beneficial to speaker and listener.

Accountable talk stimulates higher order thinking by requiring students to clarify

their thinking, ask questions, test their hypotheses, learn to respect, listen actively

and build on the ideas of others, and articulate their views and

opinions constructively.

Collaborative Learning

Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other's learning.

A Few Collaborative Learning Techniques…Think-Pair-Share

JigsawFour Corners

GraffitiRound Table / Rally Table

The Doughnut / Inside Outside Circle

Collaborative Learning (cont’d)

Think-Pair-ShareThe teacher sets a problem or asks for a response to the reading.The students think alone for a specified time.The students form pairs to discuss the problem or give responses.Some responses may be shared with the class.

JigsawThis activity is characterized by participants within a

cooperative group each becoming an expert on different aspects of one topic of study.

* SEE HANDOUT

Collaborative Learning (cont’d)

Round Table/Rally Table• The teacher poses a question that has multiple answers.• The first student in each group writes one response on a paper and

passes the paper counterclockwise to the next student.• Teams with the greatest number of correct answers gain some type

of recognition.

The Doughnut / Inside Outside Circle• Students stand in 2 concentric circles facing each other.

• Facing each other they take turns sharing information and ideas or ask each other questions.

• At a given signal from the teacher, the outside circle moves a number of places clockwise.

• Students now give feedback on what was said between themselves and their previous partner.

* SEE HANDOUT

Critical Literacies

Critical literacy allows children to challenge text in the service of understanding, to become active participants, to ask the questions, to dig deeper for meaning, and to deconstruct texts.

Critical literacies give students the tools they need to think deeply about text and to take analytical

stances.

WEBCAST: Critical Literacy, November 29, 2007, CSC

Professional Learning Communities

WHAT IS A PLC?• a group of educators whose common goal is to improve

student achievement• a structured teacher collaboration• a group of educators who use data for reflection• Components of a PLC include: ensuring learning for

ALL students, focus on results, relationships, collaborative inquiry, leadership, alignment

The LNS Capacity Building Series, PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES: A MODEL FOR ONTARIO

SCHOOLS, October 2007http://www.curriculum.org/secretariat/criticalpathways/files/TLCPProfessionalLearningCommunities.pdf

Informing Teaching with Data

Data should be used to: inform classroom instruction inform student placement decisions inform program and policy decisions meet accountability demands

Data should be reviewed and interpreted for the purpose of student achievement.

WHAT TYPES OF DATA DOES COLLECT? WHAT TYPES OF DATA

DO YOU COLLECT AT A SCHOOL LEVEL?

WHAT DATA DO YOU COLLECT IN YOUR OWN CLASSROOM?

Informing Teaching with Data (cont’d)

• LNS What Works? Research into Practice Series, USING DATA TO IMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, August 2008

• http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/Using_Data.pdf

Teaching Non-Fiction Writing

According to Fountas and Pinnell, the purpose of NON-FICTION writing is to “inform or persuade”, while the purpose of FICTION is to “entertain and involve readers (or listeners) in stories of life”. (Guiding Readers and Writers, Grades 3-6, 2001, p.393)

NON-FICTION writing is also called “informational writing”.

NON-FICTION writing is the most widely read genre in the world.

Research has shown that exposure to NON-FICTION (textbooks, reports, biographies) has increased enthusiasm for

recreational reading and is also associated with higher test scores in Reading and

Mathematics. NON-FICTION writing helps students think systematically.

Non-Fiction Resources

• The LNS Capacity Building Series, Non-Fiction Writing for the Junior Student, March 2008

• http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/Non_Fiction_Writing.pdf

WEBCAST: Non-Fiction Writing, April 18, 2008, CSC

It is your responsibility

to reach EVERY

STUDENT!

Remember to keep your teaching student-centered.

Involve your students in the entire process:

the planning, the teaching and the assessment and

evaluation.

KEEPING THEM

ENGAGED IS KEY!