Missouri University of Science and Technology



A. If we knew what could have the largest impact on learning and the achievement gap, would we implement it? Because we do know. Curriculum — what we actually teach — may be the single largest school factor that affects learning, intellectual development, and college and career readiness. THINGS FIRST: Curriculum NOW Phi Delta Kappan November 2011 93 (3): 70-71B.Should teachers implement a less rigorous curriculum or a more rigorous curriculum for disadvantaged children? Research shows that disadvantaged students could handle the rigorous curriculum if given the chance beliefs shape learning for all students Phi Delta Kappan November 2011 93 (3): 21-23C. information collectedon best practices used in high-performingschools and school divisions (districts) in the state.Six major findings resulted from the review:? Over the course of several years of SOL (standards of learning) implementation,SOL test scores and pass rates have increased substantially.? However, a large percentage of the difference in the SOLtest performance of schools and school divisions is still explainedby the demographic characteristics of students and their communities.Further analysis revealed that the relationships betweenthese factors and test scores could be partially explained by differencesin teacher qualifications and experience, family supportand structure, school and division characteristics, and local fiscalconditions.? Some of the schools challenged by these demographic factorshave used best practices that have helped them to achieve successon the SOL tests, and these practices are identified in the report.? Support provided at the division level has a direct bearing onthe success of individual schools, and successful divisions generallyprovide more support to their schools. Effective division practicesare identified in this report.? In the divisions and schools visited for this review, superintendents,principals, and teachers generally indicate a belief thatthe SOLs have been helpful in improving the performance of theirschools and students.Overall, the study identified nine practices used in schools with good standard of learning test results.strong principal leadership an environment conducive to learningan effective teaching staffdata-driven assessment of student weaknesses and teacher effectiveness curriculum alignment, pacing, and resources differentiation in teaching (altering content according to student needs and learning styles) academic remediation teamwork, collaboration, and vertical integrationand the structure and intensity of the school dayHowever, the project recognized that lackof parental support, lack of student motivation,lack of academic preparation, the transiencyof students, and the presence of violencein the community create enormous challengesthat principals and teachers must overcome.Schools with a student population facingthese challenges are referred to throughoutthe study as challenged schools.Successful challenged schools maximizethe amount of time available for instruction.They focus on setting schedules and allocatingtime to address potential weaknesses orto provide for remediation.The report presents a number of examplesof creative practices used by the successfulchallenged schools. For instance, teachersmight hand-deliver trophies to the homesof those students who pass the SOL tests.Male students might be matched with malerole models who teach them life skills andprovide them with learning opportunitiesafter school. Teachers of grades in which SOLtesting does not take place might be reassignedto teach for at least one year in thegrades in which the testing does take placeso that they can better understand the pressuresfelt by their colleagues. Principals mightvideotape teachers during daily observationsand use the videos of skillful teaching for staffdevelopment (those of ineffective teachingwould be used to provide constructive feedbackto that teacher).The report also covers the practices usedat the division (district) level. In successfulchallenged divisions, for example, superintendentsemphasize the importance of classroominstruction. They set a tone and spiritof achievement. High-scoring and successfulchallenged divisions are able to supportor dismiss ineffective teachers. They use professionaldevelopment to encourage learningat all levels. They use data analysis to improveperformance and to ensure accountability.They provide more support to schools frominstructional specialists. Successful divisionsencourage collaboration between schools inorder to improve instruction; sometimes thecollaboration will be between those workingat the same grade level and sometimes itwill be organized vertically between schoolsthat serve the same group of students in sequence.Successful challenged divisions usedivisionwide grade-level meetings to sharebest practices and lesson plans.thelow-scoring divisions that the researchersvisited often reacted slowly to the requirementsof the SOLs. Principals in some ofthese divisions stated that the division didnot take the SOLs seriously and thought theywould just go away in time. Low-scoring divisionsappeared to be affected by a lack ofeffective leadership on the part of their superintendents.In addition, they providedlimited support for curriculum alignment.They appeared to lack the resolve to dismissineffective teachers, and they often did notseem to provide sufficient professional developmentor support for data analysis. Lowscoringdivisions provided fewer instructionalspecialists and exhibited less collaborationamong schools. In general, these divisionsappeared to take fewer steps to encouragesharing ideas or resources.: Virginia's Excellent Adventure Phi Delta Kappan April 2004 85 (8): 565-567D. Lessons From a KIPP School:What distinguishes KIPP is not just hard work, but thoughtful work linking the daily processes of schooling to the goals of schooling, in this case success in college. Day-to-day tactics reflect broader themes: having a clear mission and hiring staff who support the mission, building student culture to support the mission, ensuring consistency, building relationships, empowering principals to lead, and using frequent measurement of success to motivate teachers and students. from KIPP Delta Phi Delta Kappan November 2011 93 (3): 52-56E. The average classroom is a pressurecooker crammed with so many shoulds, oughts, andmusts that creativity, joy, and a sense of teacher ownership have lost their place in the conversation about teachingThere is no quick fix to embrace, no 10-step programto follow. Getting personal simply requires thatteachers do what they can to give life to their talentsand dreams. Doing so means thinking about what theyvalue in teaching and searching out practices that bringsuccess and satisfaction. Getting personal asks teachersto trust their instincts andScripted programsand detailed rules don’t help, nor does leaving teacherscompletely on their own.Reconnecting to purposes. Teachers benefit from goingback to their own beginnings and thinking aboutwhy they wanted to teach.Visualizing purposes. Teachers benefit from time spentdaydreaming, imagining themselves doing what theymost believe in. Precision in dreaming is the goalTargeting models. Teachers learn from many sources, but colleaguesare among the most important.Negotiating for needs. Teachers committed to makingtheir work more personal should know how to negotiatefor what they need.Spending time in reflection. Teachers thrive on timealone to reflect on who they are as teachers.Teachers - Inspired, imaginative teaching is key to educationalsuccess, even when confronting a one-size-fits-all mentality.Administrators - Leaders perform a major service to educationwhen they take time to know teachers’ dreams.They do even more when they find ways to help thosedreams become reality. Personal Side of Teaching: Getting Personal About Teaching Phi Delta Kappan September 2006 88 (1): 76-78F. In Mississippi's statewide language arts exams in 2009-10, 88% of Dundee's 4th graders scored proficient, up from 16.2% proficient in 2007-08. In 2009-10, no Dundee students were in the minimal category. The school ranked 23rd out of 401 elementary schools in Mississippi for the 2009-10 school year, according to , up from its ranking of 160 the previous year.Learning Words Inside and Out, Grades 1-6: Vocabulary Instruction That Boosts Achievement in All Subject Areas [Paperback] books.learningwordsHow to help students improve:Determine limiting factors – for the Dundee School it was limited language and literacy skillsProvide professional learning in that area (at the teachers level, differentiated for teachers)Implement job-embedded professional learning for teachers (Literacy coaches, leaders, outside partners, and peers)Assess results and create a plan to further developmentArrange for mentoring sessions with individual teachers selected by the principal and literacy coachTeacher reflectionAdapting instructionCreate a school-based leadership teamContinued administrative support from the principal and literacy coach played a significant role in the path toward success. the education challenge of poverty in the Mississippi Delta Phi Delta Kappan November 2011 93 (3): 40-43G. Examples of reform-oriented (meaningfuldiscussions about problems that encourage inventedalgorithms or multiple solution paths) and traditional teaching (memorization of facts)However, including both reform-oriented and traditionalteaching can be seen as a good thing – allowingmore students to be successful and offering a broaderimage of mathematics in our world.find figures that had differentperimeters, but areas of 16.This doesn’t mean studentsshould not experience and get better at genres thataren’t their strengths; but, a classroom that has manygenres is more likely to provide all students with theopportunity to feel successfulStudents who have the opportunityto recognize that mathematics can encompass allof these ways of thinking and acting may be less likelyto make blanket statements about “not being good atmath.” The language of genres could allow teachers toask, “What kind of math do you mean?”This move toward genreacknowledges that there is no one best practice.FIG. 1Genres of TeachingIn Diana’s Classroom1. Mathematical discussions2. Game shows3. Group work4. Individual student math book work5. Cross-examination6. Presenting work publicly7. Individual student-teacherconversation8. Games9. Journal writing 10.Tests/quizzes by Genre: Embracing a Diversity of Practices in Mathematics pdk April 2009 90 (8): 601-606H. They're also likely to observe that students who depend on the teacher for help at nearly every step are unable to use their cognitive skills in solving problems.Yet, despite the usefulness of the theory for classroom teachers, classroom practices in the last 40 years have failed to show any systematic attempts to implement teaching for thinking ( HYPERLINK "" \l "ref-3" Goodlad 1984). Although there have been instances in selected and selective classrooms, thinking-skills development has been sporadic. While the “promotion of thinking” is included in virtually every school board list of goals, teaching for thinking is heard more in the rhetoric than seen in practice.He offers 14 “thinking operations” — specific mental functions that serve as guidelines for developing classroom activities ( HYPERLINK "" \l "ref-7" Raths et al. 1986). These operations include:Comparing,Interpreting data,Observing,Summarizing,Classifying,Making decisions,Suggesting hypotheses,Imagining and creating,Criticizing and evaluating,Designing projects and investigations,Identifying assumptions,Applying principles in new situations,Gathering and organizing data, andCoding to become aware of certain patterns of thinking.The first stage, students would gather data through their own observations. (knowing)The second stage of the curriculum model requires that students process the data they've gathered. That means they'll be comparing, classifying, coding for certain patterns of thinking, looking for assumptions, suggesting hypotheses, summarizing, and interpreting data. (understanding)At the third level, students are given opportunities to use the operation of problem solving to apply what they know. This involves applying principles to new situations, making decisions, designing projects and investigations, and imagining and creating. (knowing how)In the fourth stage, the teacher uses higher-order questions to help students reflect on their work. What was good about what they did? What kind of fixing is needed? What new insights were acquired? What additional information is needed? And most important, what are the standards by which these assessments are being made? (reflection) online exclusive: Teaching for THINKING Redux: A Curriculum Model for Classroom Practice Phi Delta Kappan February 2010 91 (5): 81-84*Redux - brought back; resurgent:I. Boys Are Relational Learners.the boys took special pains to acknowledge and appreciate teachers' openness to what interested, excited, and worried them.In the presence of attentive teachers and their refined lessons, boys seemed to find it difficult to resist engaging in learning. They shared stories of being uplifted by their teacher's humor, passion, and care and of seeking, finding, and submitting themselves to the inspiration of mentors. Many wrote of responding well to a highly structured, demanding, ''no-nonsense'' teacher, especially when they found that teacher to be ''fair'' and to want the best for them. Others praised the teacher who was kind, a ''friend.''Boys Elicit the Kinds of Teaching They Need.Consciously or not, teachers of boys tend to modify what they teach and the way they teach in response to what engages the boys in front of them. Intentionally or not, those teachers find themselves ''experts'' at teaching boys.Deterrents’ worth mentioningIf boys really do ''elicit'' pedagogy that enables them to respond productively to teachers, why doesn't this gratifying outcome always occur? There are a number of reasons, and they are worthy of serious consideration.Boys and girls may elicit different and even contradictory teacher responses, resulting in muddy, only partially successful lessons.School or state-mandated protocols may not allow teachers the flexibility to make adjustments that actually engage boys.There may be insufficient openness on the part of schools or individual teachers to examine and reconsider actual student-teacher dynamics.Teachers may lack the empathy or openness to consider the causes of student responses and instead proceed according to a prescribed method or an eccentrically established personal approach, punishing or even banishing those who resist or disrupt.Other conditions bearing on students' lives — troubled domestic circumstances, lack of physical and emotional safety — may make engagement in scholastic activity impossible.Lessons for Boys Have Transitivity.By ''transitivity,'' we mean the capacity of some element of instruction — an element perhaps not normally associated with the lesson at hand — to arouse and hold student interest. That is, the motor activity or the adrenal boost of competing or the power of an unexpected surprise in the classroom serves not merely to engage or delight; it is transitive — it attaches to and carries along a specific learning outcome.Example: One can also see this kind of transitivity in a technology lesson offered by a teacher from New Zealand, intended to teach principles of momentum. The teacher challenged students to design a model race car powered by CO2 cartridges that would race other models. The learning objectives include student mastery of a number of physics principles — momentum, aerodynamics, friction — as well as interpersonal skills necessary for teams to construct their vehicles. There were a number of factors transitive to the achievement of these learning outcomes. One is the stimulus of competition. Another is the stimulation of interactive exchanges with team members. The exercise also offers opportunities for physical movement and manipulation of materials. Boys: An International Study of Effective Teaching Practices Phi Delta Kappan December2009/January2010 91 (4): 35-40J.Spaced LearningNewspaper Reporttelegraph.co.uk/education/5166111/Revealed-new-teaching-methods-that-are-producing-dramatic-results.htmlWeb Page with an example Basic Simplified Conclusion:Professional DevelopmentBelieving Your students canEnsure that teachersconsistently observethe most fundamentalelements of a good lesson— a clear, curriculumbasedlearning target,multiple segmentstaught in short cyclesof instruction, checkingfor engagement/understandingby all studentsbefore moving on. THINGS FIRST: Hiding in plain sight Phi Delta Kappan September 2011 93 (1): 68-69Not for report – My infoA Socratic seminar in my classroom looks like this:Students sit in a U-shape or circle so that every studentcan see every other one. Students have a handoutthat details expectations for the discussion:? Every discussion should have balancedparticipation (shy people are encouraged tospeak and loquacious ones don’t dominate);? Students should cite the text often to supportideas or clarify questions;? Students don’t talk over one another, interrupt,or put down other ideas; and? The discussion should build, “get somewhere,”and raise everyone’s understanding.The catch is that nearly all of this gets done withoutthe teacher speaking. Usually, I sit off to theside, or even teaching ethics Phi Delta Kappan September 2011 93 (1): 33-35Behavior:Among the most effective teacher-based practices identified are such basic strategies as teacher clarity, teacher feed- back, opportunities for students to respond, modeling, and guided practice. misbehavior is predictable and preventable Phi Delta Kappan October 2011 93 (2): 30-34A new web site, the Zinn Education Project, promotes and supports using Howard Zinn’s book, A People’s History of the United States (Harper Perennial, 2003) and other materials for teaching history in middle and high schools. Zinn’s work emphasizes the role of working people, women, people of color, and organized social movements in shaping history. The web site offers more than 85 free, downloadable lessons and articles organized by theme, time period, and reading level. The Zinn Education Project is coordinated by two nonprofit organizations, Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change. Type of Teacher are You? Channel – videos about teaching Tips Learning ................
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