Prepared Especially for the Professional Learning Network of theBROOKWOOD CLUSTER
by Dan Mulligan, Ed. D.August 2011
THINKING GOES TO SCHOOL:DEVELOPING AND NURTURING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
Craig ES
Brookwood HS
Alton C. Crews MS
Brookwood ESR.D. Head ES
Five Forks MSGwin Oaks ES
Premise of the SessionAs the United States continues to compete in a global economy that demands innovation,
the U.S. education system must equip students with the four Cs:
1. Critical thinking and problem solving,
2. Communication,
3. Collaboration, and
4. Creativity and innovation.
epals.com
The value of teacher teams analyzing student achievement data to improve TEACHING and LEARNING is dependent on the VALIDITY and
RELIABILITY of the assessment used to generate the achievement data.
Mulligan, 2011
4 – second partner
Find a new friend in the room. Introduce yourself and share what you ‘do’. Find 2
comfortable seats and relax.
Grade 2Academic Knowledge and Skills
a. The number of cavities the sixth graders have?b. The number of people in the sixth graders’ families? c. The ages of the sixth graders’ mothers?d. The heights of the sixth graders in inches?
MOVING from ETCH-a SKETCH Learning
to Each STUDENT UNDERSTANDING
Don’t let the ‘what’
overshadow the ‘how!’
The Power of Our Questions
QUESTIONS TO EXTEND THINKING page 5 – 7
There are three parts to any research-based
lesson:•Beginning – ‘check for’ and ‘build’ background knowledge of each student; (BL)•During – teach and actively engage each student in new content – making connections to prior knowledge; (DL)•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. (EL)
SAMPLEPre-assessment
that includes differentiation
“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
Record your response to each question…
1. The % of Non-Poverty students scoring EXCEEDS on the Grade 3 CRCT Reading test in 2010.
2. The % of Poverty students scoring EXCEEDS on the Grade 3 CRCT Reading test in 2010.
3. The % of Non-Poverty students scoring EXCEEDS on the Grade 6 CRCT Reading/ELA test in 2010.
4. The % of Poverty students scoring EXCEEDS on the Grade 6 CRCT Reading/ELA test in 2010.
5. According to the Silent Epidemic, the percent of U.S. dropouts who would have stayed in school if learning was more interesting and real-world.
6. According to the Silent Epidemic, the % of U.S. dropouts who felt they were ‘too far behind’ by the end of elementary school.
7. The % of ALL students scoring Graduating On-Time in Class of 2010.
8. The % of ELL(LEP) students Graduating On-Time in the Class of 2010.
62
44
67
44
80
51
46
At the Brookwood Cluster:
SOLUTIONS: 44, 44, 46, 51, 62, 67, 80, 94
94
Self RelianceThere are three types of
baseball players--those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened.Tommy Lasorda
teachers/administrators
Minority Student Achievement in Suburban Schools~Toward Excellence with Equity, Ronald Ferguson, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, 2007
• Survey of all students in 15 middle & upper income districts in 10 states;• Examined family characteristics, opinions about quality of instruction,
achievement motivation, course-taking, effort, comprehension, GPA and other factors;
Asian Black Hispanic White0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
53
6672
4853
72 74
57
AdvantagedDisadvantaged
When I work hard, it is because my teacher tells me I can do well.(“Yes,” instead of “Maybe” or “No”)
Mission Statement
The mission of Gwinnett County Public Schools is to pursue
excellence in academic knowledge, skills, and behavior for each
student resulting in measured improvement against local, national, and world-class
standards.
Category Ave. EffectSize (ES)
Percentile Gain
Identify similarities & differences 1.61 45Summarizing & 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 23Questions, cues, & advance organizers .59 22
HIGH-YIELD STRATEGIES
21
Identifying Similarities and Differences
What processes can students engage in to identify similarities and differences?
Comparing
The process of identifying and articulating similarities and differences among items.
Classifying
The process of grouping things into definable categories on the basis of their attributes.
Creating Metapho
rs
The process of identifying and articulating the underlying theme or general pattern in information.
Creating Analogie
s
The process of identifying relationships between pairs of concepts (e.g., relationships between relationships).
Similarities and DifferencesAnalogies
putter
putter is to a set of golf clubs
as 2 is to the set of primes
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, …
What is the common relationship?
Conceptual Knowledge
Students demonstrate conceptual understanding when they:
• Recognize, label, and general examples and non-examples of concepts;• Use and interrelate models, diagrams, manipulatives, and so on;• Know and apply facts and definitions;• Compare, contrast, and integrate concepts and principles;• Recognize, interpret, and apply signs, symbols, and terms; and• Interpret assumptions and relationships in a variety of settings.
Research has solidly established the importance of conceptual understanding in becoming proficient in a subject. When
students understand concepts that frame a subject, they are able to use their knowledge flexibly. They combine factual
knowledge, procedural knowledge, and conceptual knowledge in powerful ways.
Standards in Classroom Practice, McREL, 2002
Hey…This looks familiar…
Which of the high yield
instructional strategies do
you see in this structure?
page 8
4 – second partner
WHY ACADEMIC VOCABULARY?
Find a 4-second partner Tell them who you are and one summer joy; Find 2 seats.
Briefly share what you know about photosynthesis.
Tell a chain story about the process of photosynthesis…
…without using words that begin with:
P, L, T, S
Research on Imagery as Elaboration
637 percentile pts. higher
than… …students who kept repeating definitions.
421 percentile pts. higher
than… …students who were using the terms in a sentence.
Students who used imagery to learn vocabulary, on average, performed
# of studies
Category Ave. EffectSize (ES)
Percentile Gain
Identify similarities & differences 1.61 45Summarizing & 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 23Questions, cues, & advance organizers .59 22
The average student talks 35 seconds a day.The student who is talking is growing dendrites.
50 POINTS 50 POINTS 50 POINTS
100 POINTS 100 POINTS
200 POINTS
Sara Palin
Organizing Theme:Things someone would say…
Hillary Clinton
Michelle ObamaU.S. Women’s Soccer Team
Lady Gaga
The Queen of England
FAMOUS WOMEN OF
2011 EDITION
50 POINTS 50 POINTS 50 POINTS
100 POINTS 100 POINTS
200 POINTS
Science
Experiment
Hypothesis
Energy
Electron
DissolveAtmosphere
50 POINTS 50 POINTS 50 POINTS
100 POINTS 100 POINTS
200 POINTS
Health/PE
Wellness
Equipment
Body Mass
Nutrition
EnduranceMovement
50 POINTS 50 POINTS 50 POINTS
100 POINTS 100 POINTS
200 POINTS
Ways to make .25
Grade 4Math
Things that are parallel
perimeter
Types of graphs
area
Types of angles
page 9
Great Sites for Imageshttp://etc.usf.edu/clipart/index.htm
Category Ave. EffectSize (ES)
Percentile Gain
Identify similarities & differences 1.61 45Summarizing & note taking 1.00 34Reinforcing effort & providing recognition
.80 29
Homework & practice .77 28Nonlinguistic representations .75 27Cooperative learning .73 27Setting objectives & providing feedback .61 23
Generating & testing hypotheses .61 23Questions, cues, & advance organizers .59 22
HIGH-Yield Instructional Strategies
Self-Assessment ToolSETTING OBJECTIVES &PROVIDING FEEDBACK
page 11
Kinds of Evidence – Continuum of EvidenceInformal Check for Understanding
Name a noun. Form a sentence.
Name a verb. Name an adjective.
page 10
“A pupil from whom nothing is
ever demanded which he
cannot do, never does all he
can.” John Stuart Mill
“No one Rises to Low Expectations.” Carl Boyd
Category Ave. EffectSize (ES)
Percentile Gain
Identify similarities & differences 1.61 45Summarizing & note taking 1.00 34Reinforcing effort & providing recognition
.80 29
Homework & practice .77 28Nonlinguistic representations .75 27Cooperative learning .73 27Setting objectives & providing feedback .61 23Generating & testing hypotheses .61 23Questions, cues, & advance organizers .59 22
HIGH-Yield Instructional Strategies
Georgia Performance 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
VISU
AL 2
1st C
entu
ryBLO
OM
’S Taxonomy
http://visualblooms.wikispaces.com
1.Remember it. (Describe its colors, shapes, and sizes. What does it look like?)
2.Understand it. (What does it make you think of?)
3.Apply it. (What can you do with it? How is it used?)
4.Analyze it. (How is it made or what is it composed of?)
5.Evaluate it. (Take a stand and list reasons for supporting it.)
6.Create it. (Generate a new version of it. How is it an improvement from the original?)
CUBING 2010page
12
Category Ave. EffectSize (ES)
Percentile Gain
Identify similarities & differences 1.61 45Summarizing & note taking 1.00 34Reinforcing effort & providing recognition
.80 29
Homework & practice .77 28Nonlinguistic representations .75 27Cooperative learning .73 27Setting objectives & providing feedback
.61 23
Generating & testing hypotheses .61 23Questions, cues, & advance organizers .59 22
Summarizing and Note Taking• Generalizations 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
KEY QUESTION: Why are common assessments so important?
“You can enhance or destroy students’ desire to succeed in school more quickly and permanently through your use of assessment than with any other tools you have at your disposal.”
Rick Stiggins, Assessment Trainers Institute
WHY do we ASSESS:1. INFORM INSTRUCTIONAL
DECISIONS
2. ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO TRY
Talk to Me…page 15 – 16
Follow-up Debriefing• Each pair should share with your other team members the
method you used to graph the figure.
• Discuss with your team:– Which method appeals to you?– Is there another method that you would prefer?
• Prepare for a “pairs choice of method” with a new graph.
Key Question
Did your performance on the second attempt to complete the grid exercise
improve after having an opportunity to self-assess your initial strategy?
Formative Assessment
• Formative assessment is the process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust teaching and learning for the purpose of improving student learning.
Council of Chief State School Officers, October 2006
Notes:
Process rather than a particular test….
It is not the nature of the test itself that makes it formative or summative…it is the use to which those results will be put.
MOTOR MOUTH
MOTOR MOUTHThings associated with
schoolBooks
Report CardsTeachers
School BusCafeteriaPencilsErasers
Things associated with matter
SolidMixture
SolutionsAtoms
MoleculesLiquidGas
Things associated with fiction
CharacterPlot
SettingForeshadowing
DialogueMetaphor
Theme
Things associated with triangles
AcuteHypotenuse
ObtuseSides
EquilateralRight
Angles
Reflection (summarizing)
What is structure or concept from today’s session that will assist
you with your students this year?
Thank you for all you do, for all the children!
~Dan
