The Cutting Educator

Staying on the Cutting Edge of the Profession…

The Cutting Educator - Staying on the Cutting Edge of the Profession…

Wyoming Tribune Eagle Newspaper Article

ACT program targets students’ thinking habits

ACT program targets students’ thinking habits

AERIN CURTIS Wyoming Tribune Eagletrib.com

CHEYENNE — Teachers at Cheyenne’s Central High School are focusing on how students think.

The work started with a grant-funded extended day program to help students who were underperforming — specifically on the ACT, said Central Principal Stephen Newton.

He gave a presentation on the project, now in its third year, at a recent Laramie County School District 1 board of trustees meeting.

“The ACT is a test of incredible consequence for our kids,” he said. “Not only is it an exam that determines their eligibility to enroll in college and universities across the nation but also if they’ll be eligible for scholarships.”

The test can also determine if students have to take remedial classes in college, he said.

Though the program aims to help students perform better on tests like the ACT, it is not a test-prep course, Newton said.

Rather, it focuses on helping students understand the higher-level thinking needed for the test.

“The finish line where students end with us absolutely must be the starting line where they begin in their next endeavors, whether that is to college, a trade school, the workforce or the military,” Newton said.

In one case, the individual work helped a student increase a score from a 16 to a 28 out of 36, he said.

In addition to helping individual students, it’s also identified patterns of misunderstanding and gaps that can be used to help multiple students, he said.

“It’s not just teaching test questions,” said Central teacher Mary Kerns. “It’s about building the skill level so (students) are able to answer the questions.”

In the past several years, school test scores have increased steadily, even in years when state scores declined, Newton said.

Work has gone into some of the development and tests done with the district-wide curriculum, said Central teacher DeAnn Eisenhart.

It also has been presented to about 250 educators across Wyoming and is set to be presented at an upcoming Wyoming educational conference.

“Teachers and administrators from across the state [are] looking to learn from these folks as well,” Newton said. “They are giants in the field of education.”

Newton and several Central teachers fielded questions about the program from the trustees. Questions centered on the strength of the current district curriculum and how test-type questions were used on district assessments.

Trustee Tim Bolin also wanted to know if the information had been shared with other LCSD1 schools.

“Within our district we’re trying to be a proactive voice,” Eisenhart said.

The Reluctance to Embrace Reading in Content Area Classrooms

 

How do we get kids to read in content area classes?  The answer, it seems, begins first by acknowledging that students must be given the opportunity to read in content area classes before we debate why the students are reluctant or don’t perform well.

Perhaps the answer is rooted in the belief that to read passages (apart from the textbook, but that is a whole other story) in class is to depart from the true mission of the curriculum.  Do teachers believe that reading assignments in content area classes create a whole new set of instructional obligations rather than seeing it as a different delivery method for appropriate content? 

Is the problem rooted in finding relevant reading passages that dovetail into the existing unit plan so teachers do not feel as if they are taking a detour away from their prescribed goals?

Goals v. Plans

We spend a fair amount of time in our own lives (and certainly in our conversations with kids) discussing goals.  There is no doubt that goal setting is an important and powerful tool in bringing focus to our life and preparing ourselves for things to come.

Have you noticed, though, that students often share with us decent goals but we are left feeling uneasy nonetheless?  I would suggest it is because, while students have good goals, they have weak “plans.”  Suppose you have a student that tells you she wants to go to college at the local University.  That is an admirable goal.  We often let kids off the hook at this point by failing to ask the follow up questions that would reveal the quality of their game plan.  Ie, have you taken all of the coursework to be eligible for admission?   Are you standardized scores high enough to get in?  Does that school specialize in the area you wish to study?

I was once told that my actions in the next 3 days would be more telling of what my life was going to be like in the next 3 years…far more telling than any description of my 3 year goals.  My actions tell the truth, my goal statement is…well, just talk.  Am I currently taking the next logical step to inch closer to the distant goal?  Teenagers live in the word of baby steps.  Perhaps our conversations should be rooted in the next 3 days rather than the next 3 years with our kids.

Quite honestly, I think this advice would be helpful for all of us….

Coaching Teachers to Take Professional Risks

***Special Guest Blog***

I am certainly honored to have today’s blog submitted by the very distinguished:

Mr. Daniel E. Richards

Belmont High School Principal

Belmont, MA

Enjoy…

********

All to often I am faced with the question, “Why don’t our students take more risks during their classes?” I have come to the conclusion that risk taking needs to, like most things, be modeled for our students. If our teachers are not taking risks in their classes, than how can we expect our students to take risks with their day-to-day learning.

So, to help get things moving and to provide a safe environment for teachers to start taking risks, I created a new policy simply called “Risks.” During the first meeting of the year, I explained to the faculty and staff that there is a new first page in the Faculty and Staff handbook. I asked them to take a moment and read it to themselves quietly. As they read the first page now called “Risks”, I could see the teachers cautiously looking at each other out of the corner of their eyes and hear them softly whispering to each other. I swear I could hear their thoughts saying “Where is this guy going with this”.

After they completed the reading, I explained to the faculty and staff that this is our new adopted Faculty and Staff handbook. Risk taking is expected from everyone and will be celebrated. I concluded the meeting by saying “Failure is fine, as long as we learn from our mistakes and get back up again and again. Trust me, you all will become better teachers in the long run.” In short, the culture at Belmont High School is now shifting.

Below is our new first page of the Belmont High School Faculty and Staff Handbook:

Risks

What if I screw up?

Nobody has ever been fired at Belmont High School for making mistakes for trying to improve their curriculum, instruction or personal craft. It wouldn’t make sense for us to operate that way. Providing the freedom to fail is an important trait of Belmont High School – we couldn’t expect so much of individuals if we also penalized people for errors. Making mistakes are genuinely looked at as opportunities to learn. We can always repair the mistake or make up for it.

Screwing up is a great way to find out that your assumptions were wrong or that your curriculum, practice or instruction was a little bit off. As long as you update your model and move forward with a better picture, you’re doing it right. Look for ways to test your beliefs. Never be afraid to run an experiment, collect more data or differentiate your instruction.

It helps to make predictions and anticipate nasty outcomes. Ask yourself, “what would I expect to see if I’m right?” Ask yourself , “what would I expect to see if I’m wrong?” Then ask yourself , “what do I see?” If something totally unexpected happens, try to figure out why.

There are still some bad ways to fail. Repeating the same mistake over and over is one. Not listening to others before or after a failure is another. Never ignore the evidence; particularly when it says you’re wrong.

We at Belmont High School encourage and support risks to improve the teaching and learning of ALL our community members.

Coursework Rigor vs. Self-Preservation: How GPA is selecting against AP courses…

Grades matter.  Let’s don’t pretend for a minute they don’t.  As long as scholarships and college applications ask for a student’s GPA, we will have to keep the importance of GPA in mind.  With that reality is the added frustration of parents and students who want to game the system.  Rarely does the concerned parent want to ensure that their student has 90% mastery of the material.  Rather, they want the “A.”

One unfortunate casualty in this battle is the enrollment numbers of Advanced Placement (AP) coursework.  How many times have you seen a capable student shy away from enrolling in an AP course in order to protect their GPA?  AP courses are the bulwark of academic rigor in our schools and some of our best do not pursue the challenge for all the wrong reasons.

So, my friends, the question goes out to you today…What do we do?  Some have adjusted the GPA scale for these courses in recognition of the added rigor.  Others have dropped the lower limit of an A to give more kids the benefit of the superior grade.  Some educators play the role of cheerleader and just use good old fashion encouragement to entice students into their honors courses.

What do you do?  What works?…

Where do educators find their answers?…

Where do you look for your answers?  Do you read a book, read a journal article, or attend a conference?…

Although all of these ideas have great merit, maybe the answers are closer to home.  In education, we have gotten much better at looking at the performance data of our students.  Sometimes it is for all of the wrong reasons, but we are examining performance data like never before.  Unfortunately, we have much more data than information and much more information than knowledge. Most certainly, we have much more knowledge than wisdom.  So how do we sort through all of the numbers and make sense of how we are doing?

Let’s save the technical analysis discussion for another day.  Today, let’s talk about the bright spots in our own schools.  First, in your mind, pick one of the tests you give periodically in your school.  After the dust settles and you have the results, you have a few choices:

  1. You can totally ignore the results.
  2. You can assess student weakness based upon subtest strengths and weaknesses.
  3. You can create staff development opportunities based on trends you see in school wide data.

One incredibly powerful opportunity yet remains…

Schools can examine areas of particular weakness and see which teachers are defying the numbers.  For example, suppose your school is not making expected growth with your highest achieving students.  Is it true for all of your teachers?  Are the brightest students in each and every classroom underperforming?

Perhaps you have a teacher whose brightest kids are destroying national norms for growth, but because other classrooms’ students performed poorly enough, the bright spot was dimmed.  Are we speaking to these teachers?  Are we visiting their classrooms to figure out why they may be achieving at such high levels?  After all, they are finding success with your own student population.  Don’t we often dismiss other school’s results by concluding, “That wouldn’t work in our school.”  These teachers have figured out how to make gains in your school.

Or, are we so fearful and threatened that true performance may cause competition and resentment that we quietly pretend all teachers get similar results?  My guess is that other schools would be thrilled to have the opportunity to visit the classrooms of your best.  Maybe instead of booking that trip for an upcoming conference, we should instead walk next door…

An Educational House Divided?…

In the wake of the school accountability movement, a growing divide seems to be developing between core and elective teachers.  This is only exacerbated by decreased educational funding where schools have to make tough choices concerning which programs they intend to support.

Aside from the focused attention and emphasis that core disciplines are receiving due to state testing/accountability, the rift is also beginning to widen as core teachers feel that electives do not have the same pressures to perform.  Many teachers note that there are no measures of growth in elective courses that are used to show achievement gains.

  • Should elective courses develop the same sort of assessments to demonstrate growth even if the State and Feds are not interested in using them in accountability models?
  • How to we encourage the relevance of elective coursework in the current state of accountability?
  • How do we unite the staff in our schools if some teachers feel like they are under the microscope while others “get a pass” on accountability measures?

The Evolving Grade Book…

As teachers begin to incorporate formative and summative assessments into their classroom practices, we must reevaluate what ought to appear in the grade book.  Historically, participation points, worksheet grades, and even a signed syllabus have warranted an entry into the grade book (not to mention the more ridiculous practices such as points for Kleenex boxes brought in).  Teachers, however, are beginning to own the fact that a grade ought to reflect what a student knows and is able to do.  If work ethic and participation are valued, they should be reported on elsewhere.

A side effect to this movement is that teachers simply have far fewer grades in their grade book.  In the early portion of a unit, we know students don’t know the material (that’s why they are in the course!).  Should they be punished with poor grades while they are still practicing?  Many educators are leaving those formative assessments out of the grade book and are only recording summative measures.  However, summative measures do not happen every day.  But, students, parents, and administrators often continue to look for a changed in the grade as evidence of daily progress.  Quite simply, a grade book may no longer give daily updates on the progress of a student.

  • Where then do we look for daily updates on student progress?
  • Do we have a method to report that information?
  • If a student is grounded on Friday because of poor grades, when will a parent likely see a change in the grade if the next summative measure isn’t coming along right away?

Content Area Literacy…where to begin?

Click here for the entire article!!!

Educators often lament the lack of commitment to literacy in our secondary schools.  In this game of educational hot potato, we are left wondering, “Who owns literacy in the high schools?”  For too long, we have left it in the hands of English teachers who have their hands full trying to help kids understand the mechanics of our language and wrestling with reading, writing, and speaking/listening.  Certainly English teachers are at the forefront of this fight.  However, we recognize that there are many, distinct types of literacy.  A cursory look at a Biology textbook shows that it must be read completely different than To Kill a Mockingbird.

So, where do you begin?  I would suggest that everyone needs a common reference point of background information so we are all speaking the same language.  I also believe we should turn to the experts.  I have attached the link to a seminal article on Reading Comprehension instruction for secondary students.  Do yourself a favor and spent 15 minutes with this research article that ties together a model of strategy instruction with a tremendous overview of Gradual Release of Responsibility.  Share this article with your colleagues.  You’ll be glad you did and students will win in the end.