Top 10 Mistakes Teachers Make in Doing GAA

Based on experiece, observation & scores from previous years

1. Starting with the standard instead of starting with the student.

• First ask yourself what can the student do? What is reasonable to expect them to learn/do?– Turn to sound– Reach & grasp– Copy words/sentences– Read at 2nd grade level

• THEN choose standards and activities that will assure progress

HINT: focus on selecting Units for aligning with Common Core

• Have they been constructed with backward design? Remember that we start with the end in mind. We do not build a unit around a piece of text, rather we start with the student learning targets, how we will assess mastery, and the enduring understandings that are to be taught BEFORE we move to the activities that we might use to reach these targets.

2. Trying to teach the standard instead of trying to reach your student with standard based materials

• Our students are not going to master the standards and most will not even come close.

• Focus on what the student can learn in relation to the standard and make it meaningful.

• EXAMPLE: There is no meaningful, real life activities for identifying cell organelles, but you could make an edible cell which would be working on life skills or cooking & following directions.

3. Only looking at collecting 4 pieces of GAA evidence instead of looking at a meaningful instructional unit.• Begin with what you want the student to do at the

end of the unit.• Next – how will you assess that • THEN you plan instruction that will provide

evidence.• PLAN

4. Choosing standards that have no meaning for student so activities are contrived not meaningful

• If there is not a way to do a meaningful activity related to the standard – DON’T DO IT

• Do not select square roots or scientific notation– Instead select algebra or measurement

5. Teaching extensively before collecting baseline evidence.

• Baseline is “an initial value that can be used to compare past, current and projected future values. The baseline can be considered the starting point against which all future values are measured.”

• It is what the student knows when instruction begins – You cannot measure progress unless you know where

your starting point is– You can do baseline during very initial instruction but not

after instruction has truly started• Once significant instruction has begun it is no longer

a baseline.

6. Collecting evidence for collection 1 without having planned out the full instructional unit.

• You must begin with the end in mind.– what will the final assessment look like?

• THEN you can back up and plan your instruction– Which will include collecting baseline data.

• You should not collect baseline until you determine what your progress will look like.

• Your primary collection 1 must be similar enough to the primary collection 2 to make progress very clear.

• You only have the 2 pieces of evidence to show significant progress from Collection 1 to Collection 2

7. Having 1st collection evidence will 100% accuracy and no support.• If the first collection is 100% without significant

prompting, then you have chosen a task that is too easy for the student.

• The baseline activity to show progress should not be 100% no matter how you are going to show progress.

• If they get 100%, give them a harder task closer to what you expect them to be able to do in final assessment.

8. Having 1st collection evidence less than 50% and trying to show increase in complexity instead of increase in accuracy.

• If your baseline is less than 50% – DO NOT try to go for complexity in collection 2– Go for accuracy and go to 100% on same level

of task

9. Trying to hit more than 1 or 2 components of the element• It is better to show good solid progress on a few

things than add too many components to show clear progress.

• You only have 2 pieces of evidence to show progress – Keep it clear and simple

10. Starting with worksheets instead of hands-on activity based materials.• Instruction and assessment should be practical

hands-on activities• Common core now dictates depth of knowledge

application• Worksheets without significant adaptations should

not be used.• Best practice indicates the use of worksheets is

inappropriate for students who are functioning in the significantly intellectually disabled range.

• Higher score for real world activities

AND 1 more: Choosing standards that do not already have adapted materials

• There are recommended standards with many materials already created on the DOE electronic resource board.

• Georgia teachers have been doing GAA for 5+ years =– What has passed?– What have other teachers done?

• Don’t reinvent the wheel.• Make GAA interesting and simple.