Northeast Ohio OISM Consortium Focus Group 3



Northeast Ohio OISM Consortium Focus Group 3

Dr. Sally A. Lewis, Facilitator

Present: not on tape

1. What skills must pre-service teachers demonstrate to effectively teach in an OISM school?

• They have to be open-minded. Or open to suggestions, willing to understand the whole process of how OISM works an the strategies and effectiveness it has on the whole building.

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• They have to buy into the idea of scientifically based research and systematic approaches to problem solving.

• Knowledge and ability to find scientifically based interventions. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

• Can I ask, where you go to find scientifically based interventions?

• That is a key question, inaudible, right now we are looking at when we evaluated the core program with PET and that was very helpful looking at that and then evaluating, we are using BASIL, but we did a lot of research for professional development. We did a full block framework and we went beyond that. We sent someone to the University of Akron to be trained. We had certain teachers trained with intensive interventions. Using the train-the-trainer model. I think that has been really important going into OISM because they have got that good base for the core. Right now we are looking at trying to do something with targeted and intensive. Quite frankly, we are asking the questions, what is going to work best? What things are simple and can be done as a part of classroom instruction. Some of the stuff we passed out related to fluency with short easy things that could be done in the classroom. Steps toward Fluency would be helpful. But to get into intensive interventions. We know in terms of time that one on one is best or small groups. Like 5 to 1. but as far as a set program there is a website out of Texas, inaudible, going back to look at those things and trying to pick something that matches what you think your needs are. That is the most critical piece. I guess from your perspective, implementing things that are scientifically based, maybe having certain teachers trained in intensive intervention with the idea that you would target their fieldwork to the specific school that would have that need. Because when you are looking at intensive intervention, somebody is going to have to have some extensive training and to walk into a building you are match isn’t the same as what they are doing, you are going to create havoc on the student and the building itself.

• Be a good consumer of research, everything says it is SBR. How do you know if it truly is. That is part of the training that we go through. And use the US DEPT OF ED booklet for NCLB. But that is where our buildings are having trouble. The tutors are trained and then when a job comes open they leave because it is only a part-time position. But to teach them to be good consumers of research.

• Needs to remain individualized in it’s application because what works for one building may not for another. inaudible

• Overall most districts are going to come down to special ed. What intensive intervention is going to look like and target it …inaudible. I need to read the research.

• We got a grant from the State dept. It was a full Grant for Head Sprout. Look it up. It is very good.

• What else?

• Be flexible and adaptive to change. You are going to be working in a situation that they are probably come out of college where things are being taught and coming into the classroom where it is not going on there, or maybe just bits and pieces. You have veterans teachers that do things another way. Be able to work with others.

• Strong ability to teach the core reading. When I went to YSU, I wasn’t ready to teach reading. I learned in front of the kids. Firm understanding of behavior principles in a positive framework. If they have that core piece and are able to reach 80 % of their students, then the intervention piece you can work on.

• Reading principles build on one another. IF you don’t have bottom level, then you can’t build. Have to get the basics to build on.

• Time-management skills and setting up your classroom so that you can do progress monitoring with this group and intervening with this group while the other groups are working. Not having enough time is the biggest complaint that I get. But if they set up their classrooms and did the centers they could do it.

• Helping young teachers manage multiple levels of instruction.

• And differentiate it.

2. What skills must pre-service administers demonstrate to effectively administrate in an OISM school?

• Basic understanding of literacy, behavior, and good understanding of action plans.

• Problem solving process

• Have to support teachers and have good rapport with staff. Know what strengths of teachers are. They have to believe in it and see the benefits. They have to know the strengths of their teachers.

• Inaudible. It is an art, not just a science.

• Engage with the community and parents. And really taking that role and having ownership outside the school.

• You have a positive rapport. If you can be their friend too, it helps too.

• Every staff is so different. You have your power players and non-power players. It is kinda like coaching.

• Overall understanding of staff. Pick teacher-leaders and develop them.

• Empower staff, principle can’t do alone. The building leadership team needs to help or it doesn’t work. If the principle is not strong, it goes no where. There is fine line of control and leadership.

• The building leadership teams are important. When you believe in it, it can be hard to let go.

• When I teach a leadership class, I think there has to be a safe-zone where teachers can try things without worry about screwing up. It steps outside of traditional schooling, there has to be some kind of safe zone. If you don’t get it, get tomorrow. Or if an intervention didn’t work, just write while they are acquiring these skills there has to be a its ok, just keep going. There has to be this mutual respect that I am going to screw up sometimes and show some strengths and that’s ok.

• Be clear with the staff about their “vision” and give reasons why they believe it is important. Inaudible.

• Allow teachers to practice what they have learned.

3. What skills must pre-services counselors demonstrate to effectively counsel in an OISM school?

• They play a big role on the behavior part of it. Come with the skills to intervene with behavior issues and testing. One of the mistakes we made was not putting our counselor on board with the leadership team. We have brought her in the intensive behavior meetings and their understanding of testing. They can be a big asset. They are key players in the OISM model.

• Targeting interventions on the behavior side of it. Small group intervention. Study skills, anger-management, and social skill groups.

• Are they usually willing to serve, because sometimes they are so busy? They are used as mini-administrators.

• Some people think that our counselor should make the problems go away. But we know that isn’t going to happen but she has done a good job with the small groups. She is new and shiny bright.

• Was your counselor on board?

• Our counselor was on the team from the very beginning. What was great was that she was also special ed trained. We had a lot to talk about. She runs all the IET meetings. She was definitely an integral part.

• Are IET teams effective?

• Sometimes it might not work. Every building different. It depends on what your IET team looks like.

• IET seems to be one of the most difficult things to get a good mastery of.

• We have had trainings so we are getting more comfortable. It is difficult from a time management standpoint to bring it all together. We haven’t come up with a good base of interventions.

• It is interesting that you say it is loaded up on special ed.

• Where it is working…one of the things that I see with our IET meetings is that we are used to accommodating for special ed and in my opinion handicapping children. It is a real change of thought to provide an intervention to help the child overcome the disability or the problem. There is a mindset change that has to take place and procedural knowledge that has to take place on our part that needs to improve if that process is going to be what it needs to be.

• We keep pushing that they are all our kids. Now it is get them back in the core and everybody works with them.

• Be organized. Everyone is doing more than one job. They have to be organized in order to see what was talked about, what the team talked about last, schedule meetings. And know how to manage system you put in place.

4. What skills do entry-year teachers need to have to work in an OISM school?

• Same as question 1. That is what I am thinking.

• Practice skills so they don’t “loose” their skills. It becomes meaningful with experience.

• If you have this training and everything looks different when you get to that building, you try to start molding to that building. Take what you learn and apply what they have learned and apply it to the context of the building.

• Is there a set of skills to stay strong to practice skill?

• Believe in what you believe in. If it is good and that is what you want to do, just do it. Having that strength. And quietly do it.

• Peer training. But the teachers love it because the teachers are sharing. Bringing in quality tools. The biggest sell has been the kids. The kids go on to the next grade, and parents, if they like it, want to see it there. Teachers are learners and they want to do what is best for their children and they want the answer. But there is no one answers. Develop a style that works for you and for the child.

• And that could fall back on the admin. You need to allow them to practice what they have learned. It goes back to the safe place and allows them to grow.

• Teachers need to be life-ling learners. Good teachers are researchers. Strong understanding of why they are doing it. It is a craft.

• The data matter. They are really seeing that what they are doing is making a different. Look at data to see if what you are doing is working.

5. How would you identify strategic planning for implementing OISM?

• Start small. Inaudible. Build bigger every year.

• Don’t expect too much too fast. Inaudible.

• Start from the bottom and work your way up. It limits the initial project and it is a gradual step to the next couple of grades. It is simple because the children know and then the parents. Know.

• First thing that should be done is gathering data. Write problem definition based on data. Inaudible. Get community and parents involved. Not haphazardly putting plans together.

• Are there parents on the boards? Is that difficult.

• Yes, it is a requirement. Many will have two parents. One representing general ed and one representing special ed. Some buildings are more receptive ad do a better job.

• We have one parent who is very consistent. The parents get easily frustrated because we talk in terms that they don’t know. And there is not that much time.

• Inaudible. Communication that they (parents) can understand. Inaudible.

• Districts and regions need to be involved. I meet with principals of all the building. Everyone meets at least once a month and the principals have a chance to see what is going on in the other buildings. Some that are doubting can realize that there is an effect.

• I know the state dept. is really trying to get districts involved. If you don’t have the district leadership understanding that many policies need to change to implement OSIM, then it kinda falls apart.

• Educate the parents of what is being done and what they can do to help.

• Who in the community serves on these teams?

• It is just the parents actually. We have presented it is to the board and a people in the rotary I guess. We try to make them aware through newsletters.

• We use press releases and newsletters but that is not OISM per se.

• And you can’t walk into any of the buildings without seeing what is going on. The rules are posted and expectations are posted. They serve as a constant reminder to the children and others in the building.

• All staff should know about OISM, dibbles. We assumed that all the staff were on board, but that wasn’t the case. They were asking “what is this OISM, DIBBLES. You are telling us to do it but we don’t know what it is or why.” Tell everyone what everything is and why they are doing it.

• Should action plans be given to the teachers? Should they have copies? Post one somewhere? We add things and mark ones off that have been completed. We have one for reading and one for behavior. We want to add the counselor next year. We have Book club where participants share strategies. Some took it for credit and others took it for support. We would like to see a book club in every building. It has worked. It is non-threatening and it is nice staff meeting.

• It is evidenced of a shared goal.

6. What kinds of assistance do teachers need from IHE’s?

• In terms of NCLB…it would be nice if they truly understood what that looks like in the building, why we do certain things, how it is impacted by the federal programs. As much as you could with that up front would be helpful from the school’s perspective because when they get out there, they are going to see the connections because usually about once a year or two years I play that out in terms of our goals and the criteria that affect the schools and how each of those things play into the title program. If they have an understanding of NCLB, I think when they see the implementation of it in the schools, they’ll have fewer questions perhaps and an understanding of how everything fits together. That is hard. The new teachers need an understanding of federal programs. They could spend some time with the Title person and see the action plans.

o Point out the evidence of OSIM to new teachers

• We need to understand what each other does. Walk a mil in their shoes. How do they connect and relate. Understand what everyone else’s job entails, i.e. special ed, counselor, etc.

o Interview/shadow principle, superintendent, title teacher, etc. Understand how it all fits. Do they know how the system works? This is something that they may not be aware of.

• You have to know the bits pieces and parts.

• Hearing today’s panel was very helpful.. Professors can not duplicate a practitioner’s experience.

• Teachers need to share ideas. We all have something. We protect our ideas. If your idea is helping then let somebody else have it. This can change. Sometimes it is more “who would want my idea.”

• I like that, almost a directive observation.

7.) What kinds of assistance do teachers need from IHE’s?

• Truly the best thing that ever happened, any program that you ever do, if you can take what you are learning and apply it directly. Implement what the students are learning in the classrooms each session. It created long-term change better than anything I have seen in a long time.

• Inaudible. We still have our tech courses and in special ed it is called step.

• As a teacher, I love having access to research articles. I wish you could somehow pay to allow access to university materials after graduation.

• You and I are the same that we want to find things to get to the teachers.

• There are excellent resources here at YSU.

• Maybe through the alumni association.

8. How do we build stronger OISM partnerships for collaboration with the P-12 schools?

• Maybe we should have regional meetings, we meet monthly. Maybe we could partner with the university and put you on the agenda and keep this conversation ongoing. At the regional level there is—inaudible.

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