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 Process

Define the ProblemDefining 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 34

Reinforcing effort & providing recognition

.80 29

Homework & practice .77 28

Nonlinguistic representations .75 27

Cooperative learning .73 27

*Setting objectives & providing feedback*

.61 23

Generating & testing hypotheses

.61 23

Questions, cues, & advance organizers

.59 22

Generating and Testing Hypotheses

Problem 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 Discovery

When 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 34

Reinforcing effort & providing recognition

.80 29

Homework & practice .77 28

Nonlinguistic representations .75 27

Cooperative 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

C O V E R

Allow students to personalize their notebook with a cover collage.Preserve with packing tape.

Tab

le o

f C

on

ten

t S

amp

les

MIND Notebook Rubric

Experiencing a MIND Notebook

What is a MIND Notebook?

A personalized, clear textbook

A 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 Explore

Predict Solve Survey Verify Investigate REASONING

Categorize Classify Compare ContrastDifferentiate

Describe Estimate Explain Generalize Interpret

Justify Order Hypothesize Predict Infer

Prioritize Rank Validate Summarize COMMUNICATION

Clarify Correspond Describe Discuss Demonstrate

ExhibitExplain Express Persuade Portray

RestateShow Speak State Write

Why use them?Higher-level thinking– Expand student thinking skills

Analyzing

Synthesizing

Evaluating

Relating and developing concepts

Categorizing

Sequencing

Comparing and contrasting– Get to higher levels of Bloom’s

WHO AM I ?

Questioning StrategiesThink Time

Question Exchange

Journaling

Numbered Heads

Jigsaw

Learning Centers

Timed Pair Share

Writing 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 achievement

Clear curriculum choices

Frequent assessment of student progress and multiple opportunities for improvement

An emphasis on writing

External scoring

Words Heard in an Hour

Poverty: 615 words

Middle class: 1251 words

Professional: 2,153 words

Hart and Risley, 1995