Purposeful Student Input
by Debbie Yonke, Coordinator Quality Assurance in Learning

When we think of teaching with a purpose and for a purpose, many times we reflect on how to make our day to day classroom interactions more powerful.  One way we can accomplish this is through the use of student input or feedback.  In Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement, John Hattie stated:

“I realized that the most powerful single influence enhancing achievement is feedback. This lead me on a long journey to better understand this notion of feedback.  After researching and reviewing feedback from a student's perspective (e.g., help-seeking behaviors) and from a teacher to student perspective (e.g., better comments on tests, increasing the amount of feedback in class), it dawned on me that the most important feature was the creation of situations in classrooms for teachers to receive more feedback about their teaching--and then the ripple effect back to the student was high (Hattie & Timperley, 2007)" p. 12. 

The following video clip from Glass Classroom focuses on gaining student input and feedback regarding recent learning.  As you view this clip of Central High School teacher, Susanne Feldman, consider how you might incorporate one or more of these ideas into your classroom.

Susanne Feldman: Quick Input https://springfieldpublicschools.instructure.com/courses/174521/wiki/student-input

Source:  Hattie, John A.C. (2009) Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York, NY: Routledge

Why Professional Learning Matters

by Debbie Yonke, Coordinator, Quality Assurance in Learning

 

Learning Forward is an international association of learning educators who are committed to professional learning to improve schools and student learning.  In one of their 2010 publications entitled "Why Professional Development Matters" Distinguished Senior Fellow at Learning Forward, Hayes Mizell, discusses the importance of professional learning to any field, but specifically how professional learning can impact student achievement.

 

Professional development refers to many types of educational experiences related to an individual's work. Doctors, lawyers, educators, accountants, engineers, and people in a wide variety of professions and businesses participate in professional development to learn and apply new knowledge and skills that will improve their performance on the job.

 

Many fields require members to participate in ongoing learning approved by the profession, sometimes as a requirement for keeping their jobs.  Professionals often also voluntarily seek new learning.

 

In education, research has shown that teaching quality and school leadership are the most important factors in raising student achievement. For teachers and school and district leaders to be as effective as possible, they continually expand their knowledge and skills to implement the best educational practices. Educators learn to help students learn at the highest levels. 

 

In Springfield Public Schools we strive to offer high quality professional learning to meet the needs of both staff and students.  Our core focus is Site Professional Learning Systems (SPLS) where key learning is embedded at the site level. In addition to this, we are happy to announce the expansion of our summer learning opportunities to provide additional choices for you to deepen your learning in areas that are of interest to you and which have a positive impact on student achievement. We encourage you to review this summer's offerings using the link below and consider attending with another teacher or team from your site to expand your impact. Summer Professional Learning Opportunities

Best Practices for Using Educational Data
by Debbie Pitts, Coordinator, Quality Improvement and Accountability

Much of life is based on numbers—the score on a test for a license to drive, an ACT number high enough for entrance into a college or university, and a balance in a bank account.  Schools prepare students to reach their full potential and strive to meet community needs against a backdrop of human circumstances and demographic realities. In the field of education, numbers provide tremendous value when trying to individualize student instruction, identify trends, and evaluate teaching methods. But what can numbers tell us about students, teaching methods, and our school district?

Medical treatment would not be considered adequate if it relied only on feelings or hunches without numbers (blood pressure, lab test results, etc.). In his preface to Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning, John Hattie highlights the treatment regime for a child, Elliot, who survived leukemia:

He has been part of a community of doctors, nurses, teachers, friends, and family—so many were involved. The impact of the dosage and treatment was constantly monitored to ensure that it was leading to the criteria of success. Decisions were made in light of the monitoring; teams worked to understand the consequences of treatments; an evidence was the key to adaptive professional decision making—all aiming to maximize the impact not only on the medical, but also the social and family, aspects.

Certainly, when educational treatment is prescribed, progress must be monitored and treatment adjusted as needed. Teams must work together to achieve results, and data must be used consistently and wisely, in a positive way, to support best outcomes for student learning.

Use Multiple Measures

Always use multiple measures to analyze student learning and school performance. One data point is not conclusive evidence on which to create plans or achieve continuous improvement.

Dr. Victoria L. Bernhardt, Executive Director of the Education for the Future Initiative, and Professor in the College of Communication and Education at California State University, Chico, stresses the importance of using multiple measures of data in her research. She advocates incorporating information from the categories of demographics, perceptions, and school processes, in addition to student learning data, to provide a complete picture and move forward with continuous improvement. (See: http://eff.csuchico.edu/downloads/TestScores.pdf).

Following are a few considerations to keep in mind to ensure use of data is effective.

Beware of Averages

Keep in mind when looking at averages it is important to look at the components that make up the average. For example, a building or district may be moving ahead, but are students at all levels doing well? It is also important to understand that percentages are built on individual pieces of information (e.g., scores, survey feedback, etc.). That being the case, percentages cannot be averaged together to determine an accurate overall percentage unless there are the exact same number of scores/incidents making up the percentages being averaged. For example, let’s say we want to know an average score for students in two buildings—Building A with an enrollment of 250 students and Building B with 500 students. If we averaged the two building averages, the answer would be giving equal weight to both buildings. What we really want is an average for the 750 students who attend the two buildings.

Percent Change

Change shows an increase or decrease over time, whereas percent change adds perspective to the amount of change. For example, the Springfield School District grew in enrollment from

23,960 in 2009‐2010 to 24,928 in 2013‐2014. The population change represented an increase of

968 students in five years; the percent enrollment change was a 4.0 percent increase. To calculate percent change, take the amount of change (968) divided by the starting point number (23,960). As another example, if what is being measured dropped from 200 to 175, the formula for percent change would be: ‐25/200 = 12.5 percent decrease.

However, percent change can be misleading unless the total number representing the change is known. Remember the old adage that you can make numbers say anything? For example, if only one student performs above grade level at the beginning of the year in a class of 25 students, but two perform above grade level at the end of the year, it is a true statement to say: “This class had an increase of 100 percent reading on grade level this year.” The statement is true, but misleading.

Data Not Always Numbers on Paper

Finally, never forget gathering data to take action is a broader endeavor than just compiling formal assessment results, attendance figures, and other numbers. Teachers collect information to inform instruction by using quick checks, discussion, and a variety of student activities to measure depth of student understanding and to guide instruction.

“When you have mastered numbers, you will in fact no longer be reading numbers any more than you read words when reading books. You will be reading meanings.”

                                                                                            ‐ W. E. B. Du Bois

 

 

 



Some “Re-Store”ation Will Do You Good
by Sarah Logan, SPS Professional Learning Specialist

  If you’ve ever driven down South Scenic Avenue, you may have noticed a large blue warehouse near the Horton Smith golf course and wondered what exactly is that place? The answer is that it’s a Habitat for Humanity Re-Store, a nonprofit home improvement store and donation center. Proceeds from their sale of donated items are invested in supporting the organization’s mission of building homes and improving lives.

  So now you’re probably wondering what this has to do with you. As educators, we share a common goal with this organization. We too are interested in building community and improving lives. Though the specific work they do is different from ours, we benefit from reflecting on connections that can be made.

1. Restock, re-shelve, and replace your inventory.

  From time to time it’s important to take stock of the resources you have on hand. This may include both physical aspects of your classroom, such as pencils and textbooks, as well as non-physical ones such as instructional strategies or person-centered relationships.
  How does what you have support you in building community and improving the lives of learners in your classroom? Identify what you need to keep, what you may need to eliminate, and what you may need to obtain in order to fulfill this mission.

2. Encourage innovation.

  Many of the items purchased at Habitat’s Re-Store are not actually used for their original purposes. A doorknob might become part of an art décor project, or a set of kitchen cabinets may be transformed into a window seat storage area. A creative mind sees what is and wonders what it may become.
  What might that look like in your role? Perhaps you can readily identify how you could repurpose resources you have on hand. Solicit input from members of your classroom community to envision creative possibilities that will be meaningful.

3. Remember your influence.

  The Habitat Re-Store is non-profit. All proceeds from their sales are invested back into the organization’s ultimate goal of helping people gain access to affordable housing. A sale is not just a sale. It’s helping someone get one step closer to realizing a dream.
  How does that resonate with you as you consider what happens in your classroom on a daily basis? Recognize that there is a much bigger picture than what is readily seen. You’re not just building community and improving lives in this moment. You’re impacting many moments in a lifetime.

On Purpose
by Alicia Moore, SPS Professional Learning Specialist

I know why you come to work every day. To reach kids. To see that spark of understanding after days of explanation, modeling, and review. To insure that the kids of Springfield have the mental tools to construct happy and useful lives for themselves. To know that there are people out there who picked up some morsel of wisdom in your very own classroom, and that they’re using that wisdom to make our society a little better.

Day after day, year after year, teachers tough out the not-so-glamorous aspects of the job because we have a purpose. Our purpose is to help young people discover their own. It’s a long journey for most students, and seeing it happen is a little like watching an acorn turn into an oak. Educational consultant Tony Wagner (2012) believes that children progress through three stages in this journey. They begin by exploring the world through play, then discover something that ignites a deeper passion, and finally gain the experience and knowledge to turn that passion into purpose. He also notes that almost every young innovator he has studied arrived at their purpose with the help of a mentor.

Teachers, it turns out, are naturally well-suited to serve in this mentor role, and not just because of the hours we log with kids each day. Our real advantage is the nature of the goals we tend to set for ourselves. Daniel Pink, author of the bestselling book Drive (2009), names purpose as one of three forces that motivate modern people. He describes one study that surveyed new college graduates about their life goals. The students’ aspirations were divided into two groups: those focused on helping others or improving the world were labeled “purpose goals,” and those concerned with status or money were labeled “profit goals.” Follow-up interviews with the graduates revealed an interesting contrast. The participants who felt they were attaining purpose goals were happier and less anxious than they had been as college students. However, those who felt they were attaining their profit goals were no happier—in fact, they showed higher levels of anxiety and depression than they had in college. As Pink puts it, “…satisfaction depends not merely on having goals, but on having the right goals” (p. 142).

So congratulations!  You chose a career that is very focused in the purpose department!  I wish you well in your role as a mentor to your students. In the playful moments and passionate discussions, you have an opportunity to steer them toward a deeper purpose in life. Enjoy the knowledge that you are creating meaning not only for yourself, but for all of your students as well.

 

Pink, Daniel H. (2009). Drive. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.

Wagner, Tony. (2012). Creating innovators. New York, NY: Scribner.

Maintaining Balance
by Martha Doennig, SPS Professional Learning Specialist

It seems that a well-managed classroom is like a well-oiled machine; it runs itself.  All components are in perfect balance until factors beyond our control interrupt the hum and progress slows, or worst, comes to a screeching halt.   The question I would like you to consider is the following:   When thinking about managing your classroom, over what factors might you have the most control?

Research points to many contributing factors that create a well-managed classroom.   These factors align to the five components of effective classroom management that are embedded in the Department of Professional Learning’s Classroom Management Module.   As you consider the following components, think about the balance within your own classroom.

Relationships: From Visible Learning for Teachers, Hattie states that the essence of a positive relationship includes the following: the student sees the warmth, feels the encouragement, understands the teacher’s high expectations, and knows that the teacher understands him or her.   How might you know positive relationships exist in your classroom?

Mental Set: From the work of Robert Marzano in Classroom Management that Works, withitness and emotional objectivity are defined within a teacher’s mental set.   Withitness can be demonstrated by being aware of what is going on in the classroom at all times, continuously scanning the classroom, intervening promptly and accurately to reinforce behavior, and mentally reviewing situations and taking proactive steps to prevent reoccurrence.   Emotional objectivity refers to the ability to maintain emotions and avoid extremes when dealing with particular students or challenging behaviors. When you consider your own withitness and emotional objectivity, what might it look and sound like? 

Classroom Environment: Fred Jones, in Tools for Teaching, discusses how classroom environment relates to the inviting feel of the classroom.   All classrooms are different, but room configuration for instruction and transitions, proximity, use of visual instructional guides and anchor chart are all contributing factors to inviting classrooms.   What are your hunches about how students feel about your classroom environment?

Rules, Procedures, and Routines: In The First Days of School by Harry Wong, rules procedures, and routines are emphasized.   Students have a need to know the rules and expectations of behavior and routines.   Just as different environments have rules, procedures, and routines, so do classrooms.   To honor students, rules, procedures, and routines should be revisited often and practiced when necessary regardless of the age of the students or the time of year.  How might you know that the rules, routines, and procedures of your classroom are supporting student needs?

Effective Learning Strategies: There is research to support a spectrum of instructional strategies that have impact on student learning.   We know from Hattie’s work in Visible Learning for Teachers that providing students with a clear learning goal and success criteria allow learning to be intentional and focused.   In addition, providing students with meaningful feedback, opportunities to process and be engaged, and efficient use of learning time also support positive learning opportunities.  When you think about positive learning experiences that you have experienced, what were some things you needed for it to be successful?

Now that you have reviewed the five components of Classroom Management, I encourage you to take a look at the Instructional Configuration that Springfield Public School uses for Classroom Management.   This can be used to determine your current level in each area.  Feel free to use the following questions to decide what steps you might want to take to maintain healthy management in your classroom upon the arrival of factors beyond your control.

Where do you see yourself currently?

When thinking about the balance of your classroom management, at what level of competence would you like to be?

Why might that be important to you?

What might it look/sound like when you reach that level?

What is the most powerful step you might take?

Costa, A.L., & Garmston, R.J. (2002).  Cognitive coaching: A foundation for renaissance schools. (2nd ed.). Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers.

Hattie, John. (2012).Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning.   New York: Routledge.

Jones, Fred. (2000). Tools for teaching.  Santa Cruz: Fredric H. Jones & Associates.

Marzano, Robert  J. (2003). Classroom management that works: Research based strategies for every teacher.  Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Wong, Harry K. (1998). The first days of school. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications. 

Proximity + Feedback=Higher Student Engagement
by Marcia Hansen, SPS Professional Learning Specialist

Tools for Teaching by Fred Jones is a book that provides practical advice and strategies for classroom management.  Jones notes that many classroom management problems are really what we might call “goofing off” or a lack of student engagement.  So what are some ways we might strengthen this component of our management toolbox? 

Jones lists teacher proximity to students as a highly effective classroom management tool to promote student engagement.  Included in the book are several different strategies to promote teacher proximity.   One strategy mentioned which aligns with our Learning Model is that of providing timely, effective feedback to students.

Providing “just in time” feedback to students is extremely effective and is usually done one-on-one with students as they are working.  Unfortunately, this is also a prime time for student misbehavior to occur; because the teacher can spend too much time with one student and loses proximity with others as a result.

“Praise, Prompt and Leave” is a strategy that Fred Jones teaches as a solution to this problem.  Jones explains that teachers seem to have a natural tendency to spend too much time providing too much information or explanation to a student.  He notes that “too much” puts a student into cognitive overload and ends up not being effective as a result.  It also significantly reduces the teacher’s proximity to the rest of the class.  The steps to this strategy are listed below.  Note that we have adapted the name from “Praise, Prompt and Leave” to “Acknowledge, Provide Feedback and Leave” to better reflect what SPS teachers are providing for their students.

ACKNOWLEDGE: The teacher looks at the student’s work and identifies what is correct and begins the conversation there. “I see that your have written a sentence with a subject and a predicate.

PROVIDE FEEDBACK: The teacher then gives the student feedback- “Your next step is to add some details to your sentence.  What details might you provide for your audience?”

LEAVE: The teacher then walks away with the positive presupposition that the student will resume working.  In the example given, the goal is for the student to think about and add details to their writing.

This frees the teacher up to utilize proximity with the rest of the class, as well as the opportunity to provide many more students with “just in time” feedback.  The teacher may return to the original student and provide additional feedback as many times as needed, keeping in mind that one step at a time feedback is most likely to be implemented. The bonus is a better managed classroom with higher student engagement.

Tools for Teaching is available for loan from the Professional Learning Department Library located at the Tefft Learning Center.