T-TESS and the Principal’s Role in Student Learning
Dr. Nathan Templeton
Director
Meadows Principal Leadership Program
Texas A&M University Commerce
Dr. Mitch Curry
Principal
Scott Johnson Middle School
McKinney ISD
Texas Association of Secondary School Principals (TASSP) Summer Conference
Austin, Texas June 15, 2017
Educating Everybody’s Children
´ Educators show how to use diverse teaching strategies to meet different students’ learning needs
´ http://www.ascd.org/research-a-topic/differentiated-instruction-resources.aspx
Essential Questions
´ What are the observables of a differentiated classroom?
´ What is your role as principal?
´ What supports need to be in place for success?
Not your Mom and Dad’s One Room Schoolhouse? Well, it really is!
´ Differentiated Instruction is not something new.
´ Think of the one-room schoolhouse. Teachers faced the challenge of finding different pathways to help a wide range of learners be successful.
Characteristics of Support Needed for Differentiated Instruction to be Successful
(Tomlinson and Allan)
´ Built on a common vocabulary related to differentiation.
´ Attend to teachers’ levels of readiness, interest, and preferred learning modes: Information, Comprehension, Skills, and Commitment.
´ Options directly focused on particular needs of particular grade levels and subject areas.
´ Include school administrators and other district leaders who will work with teachers
Characteristics of Support Needed for Differentiated Instruction to be Successful
´ Consistently emphasize high-quality curriculum and instruction as the starting point for meaningful differentiation.
´ Planned to ensure transfer of knowledge, understanding, and skill into the classroom.
´ Consistent and aligned with district differentiation goals.
´ Recognize teacher efforts.
Definition and Goal of Differentiated Instruction
Differentiated Instruction is a concept
that makes it possible to maximize
learning for ALL students. It is a
collection of instructionally intelligent
strategies based on student-centered
best practices that make it possible for
teachers to create different pathways
that respond to the needs of diverse
learners
Differentiated Instruction Differentiated instruction IS…
´ Proactively planned
´ Mindset or philosophy
´ Focused on quality curriculum, instruction and assessment
´ Rigor and Relevance
´ Sound routines and procedures
´ More qualitative than quantitative.
´ Rooted in assessment.
´ Multiple approaches to content, process, and product.
´ Student centered.
´ A blend of whole-class, group, and individual
´ instruction.
(Tomlinson, 2001, pp. 1-7)
Differentiated instruction IS NOT…
´ the individualized instruction of the 1970s.
´ A new strategy
´ A set of strategies
´ Only about instruction
´ Static
´ Teaching to the middle
´ An IEP for each student
´ Unstructured
´ Tracking grouping by ability
´ Busy work for accelerated students
´ Watering down lowering the bar the curriculum
´ chaotic
´ just another way to provide heterogeneous grouping.
´ just ‘tailoring the same suit of clothes.’
´ A program, model, recipe
(Tomlinson, 2001, pp. 1-7)
ASSESSMENT CONTINUUM
Pre-assessment + Evaluation
Ongoing/Formative + Evaluation
Summative + Evaluation
Determination of students’ current levels of readiness in order to appropriately plan instruction
Accumulation of information about students’ progress in order to make instructional decisions
Accumulation of information about students’ progress at the end of a unit of study to determine whether the criteria of the standards have been met
Evaluation – The judgment of students’ present understanding.
Pre-assessment + Evaluation
Ongoing/Formative + Evaluation
Summative + Evaluation
Intervention
Intervention
Reporting
Student Growth and Student Learning Objective (SLO)
´ Support by administrators equals feedback that is relevant to teachers and students
´ Classroom observations
´ Meaning reflection and dialogue about student learning outcomes
´ Goal-Setting and Agreed Upon Professional Development Plans
Conference and Collaboration
´ Provide time, at least once a month to discuss their SLOs, their student's progress, and their instructional adjustments in response to data (both formal and informal).
´ Provide PLC time and administrative dialogue opportunities for open, transparent and honest feedback. “The Tree of Trust”
´ Keep the goal and process alive during the school year and encourage consistent reflection the part of teachers.
Clear and Shared Vision
´ Establish a clear, shared vision that all students will learn at high levels.
´ Organized PLCs that will encourage shared responsibility for student learning and work interdependently to achieve shared goals, therefore creating an accountability team.
´ A viable and vetted curriculum:
´ that is focused on targeted student standards and objectives,
´ using agreed on sequence and pacing
´ development of formative common unit assessments to monitor student learning and growth.
References ´ Bradley, J. (2014). From ’gotcha’ to grow: How principals promote learning in the context of
teacher evaluation. Retrieved from www.learningforward.org
´ Dufour, R., & Mattos, M. (2013, April). How do principals really improve schools? Educational Administration, 70(7), 34-40. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.tamuc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=00677c81-1ce3-4858-9f4b-1ad6abaf4bd1%40sessionmgr4007&vid=3&hid=4211
´ Klein, A. (2016). The every student succeeds act: an ESSA overview. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/every-student-succeeds-act/
´ Range, B. G., Young, S., & Hvidston, D. (2013). Teacher perceptions about observation conferences: what do teachers thing about their formative supervision in on US school district. School Leadership & Management, 33(1), 61-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2012.724670
´ Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. ASCD.
´ Tomlinson, C. A., & Allan, S. D. (2000). Leadership for differentiating schools & classrooms. Ascd.
´ Tuytens, M., & Devos, G. (2017). The role of feedback from the school leader during teacher evaluation for teacher and school improvement. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 23(1), 6-24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2016.1203770
´ U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). www.ed.gov
´ Wahlstrom, K. L., & Louis, K. S. (2008, October). How teachers experience principal leadership: the roles of professional community, trust, efficacy and shared responsibility. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(4), 458-495. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.tamuc.edu/ehost/command/detail?sid=00677c81-1ce3-4858-9f4b-1ad6abaf4bd1%40sessionmgr4007&vid=6&hid=4211
´ Dr. Nathan R. Templeton
´ Department of Educational Leadership
´ Texas A&M University Commerce
´ Dr. Mitchell Curry
´ Scott Johnson Middle School
´ McKinney ISD