Welcome to Lens into the

Classroom ─ Deeper Learning

for a Wide Range of Students We will begin at 4:00 pm PST, Thursday

February 20, 2014

Agenda

● Introductions, Overview

● Looking at Student Work

Protocol

Looking at Student work Overview

● Overview of the work and dilemma [6 minutes]

● Question prep [1 minutes]

● Clarifying questions (via chat; presenter responds on video) [5 minutes]

● Question prep [1 minutes]

● Probing Questions (via chat; presenter responds on video) [8 minutes]

● Group Conversation [10 minutes]

● Presenter Reflection (3 minutes)

● Debrief [5 minutes]

● Closing the Loop [2 minutes]

General: •Hard on the content, soft on the people. • Be kind, helpful and specific. • Step up, step back (monitor your airtime).

Norms

Andrea Morton Grade 6 Humanities Teacher

High Tech Middle Chula Vista

Experience:

● Teaching since 1997 in private, public and charter schools

● High Tech Middle (2004-05)

● High Tech Middle Media Arts (2005-07)

● High Tech Middle Chula Vista (2012-present)

Education:

● Stanford University, Bachelor of Arts in English (1997)

● University of San Diego, Multiple-Subject Teaching Credential

CLAD Emphasis (2001)

● UCSD, Gifted and Talented Education Certificate (2003)

High Tech Middle Chula Vista Demographics

327 students grades 6-8

15 classroom teachers

61% Hispanic

13% Filipino

10% Caucasian

8% African-American

4% American Indian

53% Free and Reduced Lunch

$6503 Per Pupil TOTAL Expenditure - Annual

Our Diverse Student Body

8-10% of HTMCV students have

Individualized Education Plans

5% of HTMCV students are classified as

EL (English Learners) as determined by CELDT test which

test social language skills. Many additional HTMCV students

have continuing challenges with academic English

HTMCV does not focus on labels; thus, we do not use GATE

identification.

We strive to know all of our students well and meet their unique

needs. We support students who need support, and endeavor to

challenge students who demonstrate readiness for challenge.

Labels DECLASSIFIED

My Writing and Research Goals for Students

• Gather relevant information from several online sources, assessing source

credibility and integrating different types of information (graphs, charts, case-

studies, feature articles, etc.)

• Write informative and explanatory articles to examine topics of personal

interest, using content-appropriate vocabulary and a well-organized structure.

• Use textual evidence in their writing to support claims; make inferences drawn

from the study of scientific information.

Project Details

• 14 weeks, 52 sixth grade students (ages 10-12)

• Exhibitions: HTH-CV campus-wide (Dec 2014); Available for purchase via

Amazon.Com; Online website with student artwork and audio:

www.labelsdeclassified.com

The Dilemma (6 minutes)

What effective differentiation strategies might I

implement for high-ability and high-achieving

students in a mixed-ability classroom, when

working on a research and writing project, that

will ensure access and challenge for all

students?

Andrea Morton: 6th Grade Teacher High Tech Middle

Chula Vista amorton@hightechhigh.org

“George”

George is an 11 year old Hispanic student new to the High Tech

High schools. He began attending HTMCV in August 2013.

George is extremely intelligent, highly motivated and high-

achieving. He thrives on challenges.

Writing Sample, “George” Highly Motivated, High Achieving 6th Grade Student

“In researching this article, I learned a lot about fragrance. Did you know that

there are at least 5,000 different chemicals used by the fragrance industry in

products? Out of those 5,000 chemicals approximately 20% have been tested

and reported toxic.

There have also been a number of studies about how fragrance can affect the

brain. In the studies, people learned that fragranced products can cross the

blood brain barrier. With the fragrance crossing the barrier, it can possibly

damage brain tissue. This would be called neurotoxicity since it is damaging the

brain. I got this information from an article online about fragrance called

“Sweet Poison: What your nose can’t tell you about the dangers of perfume,”

by Andrea DesJardins (Copyright 1997). In this article, it explained that the

FDA has little control over the fragrance industry; also it says the FDA knows

little about the health effects on fragranced products because they don’t require

manufacturers to prove their products are safe.”

“Ken”

Ken is a 12 year old Hispanic 6th grader at High Tech Middle Chula

Vista who matriculated from High Tech Elementary-CV.

Writing Sample, “Ken” Grade 6: Proficient Reader, Struggling Writer

“My product is Axe Anarchy body gel. People use this product to clean your body

when you’re in the shower.

On the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Axe scored an ok 5, but I am

still using it. I’m still using Axe because it hasn’t done anything bad to me yet.

AXE has some good and bad things in it but the worst is fragrance it smells good

but it can take away your sense of smell. It can give you the most common allergies

in the world. It can give you allergies by going through your skin and affecting you.

Fragrance is also bad for you because if you have asthma it can really harm you by

making it worse.”

“Maria”

Maria is an 11 year old Hispanic student, designated EL, who also has

an Individualized Education Plan.

Maria works very hard and is extremely focused and studious.

Writing Sample, “Maria” Grade 6: EL and IEP

“Who knows what Flipz Chocolate Covered Pretzels are? Well if you

don’t know, they are pretzels covered with dark chocolate, milk

chocolate, white fudge or chocolate mint! I really like them because

they are a really filling snack, they are crunchy and they are really

yummy.

...I went on a website called FoodFacts.com and they gave Flipz

chocolate pretzels a score of D!! Which is NOT good! Something

that is REALLY bad about Flipz chocolate covered pretzels is that

they contain artificial flavoring which is really bad for you.”

The Dilemma (6 minutes)

What effective differentiation strategies might I

implement for high-ability and high-achieving

students in a mixed-ability classroom, when

working on a research and writing project, that

will ensure access and challenge for all

students?

Andrea Morton: 6th Grade Teacher High Tech Middle

Chula Vista amorton@hightechhigh.org

Clarifying Questions (5 minutes)

Clarifying questions are simple questions of fact. The litmus test for a clarifying question is: Does the presenter have to think before s/he answers? If so, it’s almost certainly a probing question.

Some examples of clarifying questions: • How many students do you teach? • What prior experience do students have with this type of work?

Question Prep and Response Format

(1 minute)

1. Brainstorm questions for the presenter 2. Participants enter their questions in Q&A

Please try to paste questions that have not already been asked.

Probing questions are intended to help the presenter think more deeply about the issue at hand. The presenter often doesn’t have a ready answer to a genuine probing question.

Examples of probing questions could be: • What is your biggest worry with this issue? • How do students currently reflect on their growth?

Other possible probing questions begin with: • How did you decide/determine/conclude...? • What's another way you might...?

Probing questions should not be “advice in disguise”, such as “Have you considered…?”

Probing Questions (8 minutes)

Question Prep and Response Format (1 minute)

1. Brainstorm questions for the presenter 2. Participants enter their questions in the chat in Q&A

Please try to paste questions that have not already been asked.

The conversation is not directed to the presenter. It is directed to the group and focuses on the presenter's dilemma. ●Group Instructions/Questions:

■ Begin with warm feedback. What are the strengths in this situation? ■ What are the gaps? What isn't the presenter considering? ■ What recommendations does anyone have in response to the question posed by the presenter? ■ Make a list of the recommendations and post them in Q&A

Group Conversation (10 minutes)

Presenter Reflection (3 minutes)

• The presenter has the opportunity to respond to the discussion.

• It is not necessary to respond point by point to what others said.

• The presenter may share what struck him or her and what next steps might be taken as a result of the ideas generated by the discussion.

• The debrief is not a time to continue discussing the dilemma.

• Instead focus on questions like…

o Did we have a good question? o Did we stick to the question? o Did our probing questions push the presenter’s thinking? o Was there a moment where we got off track? o How did we do with following the norms? o Was there a moment where the conversation made a turn for the better?

Debrief (5 minutes)

Participants what they have learned from participating in this protocol and how it could inform their own practice.

Post your reflections in Q&A or on Twitter

Closing the Loop (2 minutes)