WHAT IS “THE RIGHT STUFF?”

1. WHAT IS “THE RIGHT STUFF?” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuR1p7UdI2Y Let your graphic organizer guide your thinking as you watch this trailer.

2. Teachers collaborating about student work analyze REAL data to promote increased student and staff learning.

3. RESOURCE CD

4. EXAMINING STUDENT WORK: HIGH-IMPACT RESULTS • BEST PRACTICE • INCREASED STUDENT LEARNING • CURRICULUM ALIGNMENT • EXAMINING STUDENT WORK • TIMELY AND MEANINGFUL DATA ANALYSIS • SHARED RESPONSIBILITY • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACTION RESEARCH

5. VALUE AND RATIONALE • What is “The Right Stuff?” • What is “Examining Student Work?” Best Practice • RESEARCH/RESULTS • Trust in Schools • Teachers Learn • Impact in High Schools • RESOURCES • High Impact Results • Managing Complex Change • National Experts

6. WHAT IS “THE RIGHT STUFF*”HERE? Student Work– Analyze through Protocols • Relevant, timely data • Authentic Product • Student voice • Evidence of learning • Response to instruction *LEARNING FROM STUDENT WORK (LFSW)

7. WHAT IS LFSW? Teachers looking at individual student demonstration of learning – • evaluating, • determining instructional needs, • determining what is interfering with learning, • planning for instruction, • teaching to the objective, • determining sequence and next steps.

8. WHY TALK TOGETHER ABOUT STUDENT WORK? In schools with low levels of relational trust, there is a 1 in 7 chance of showing gains in student achievement. However…. In schools with high levels of relational trust, there is a 1 in 2 chance of showing gains in student achievement. Bryk and Schneider (2002). Trust in Schools: A Core Resource for Improvement

9. WHY SHOULD TEACHERS LFSW? • Reflect on evidence of student learning. • Study curricular rigor and alignment. • Analyze intent of task. • Collaborate with colleagues. • Identify teacher misunderstandings. • Reflect on evidence of effective teaching.

10. LFSW IN HIGH SCHOOLS? The Aspen Workshop on High Schools recommended in its summary report for the Transforming High Schools Task Force that the continuous and collaborative examination of student work along with the personalization of schooling are the two critical strategies for transforming high schools at the local level.

11. RATIONALE • Accurate Assessment of Learning • Full Alignment • RESULTS • Meet Higher Standards • Rigorous Instruction • Agreement on Proficiency CURRICULM ALIGNMENT • RESOURCES • Protocols • Videos • “Using a Structured Protocol”

12. HOW DO WE MEET NEW STANDARDS? Though teachers have always examined student work as part of their grading process, the new focus on accountability and standards has driven a more structured and collaborative examination of student work.

13. EXAMINE STUDENT WORK COLLABORATIVELY TO DETERMINE IF…. the assessment instruments are designed to accurately and fairly address what students are expected to learn.

14. GETTING TO KNOW THE LEARNER Student’s response is the end product of his/her thinking. Analyze to inform instruction. • Do students have any skills or knowledge to build on? • Do we need a total reteaching of a content? • Are students lacking skills and/or content knowledge? • Is the design of the assessment itself an issue?

15. AGREE ON PROFICIENCY Protocols Guide: • Conversation about TEKS • Analysis of Product Requirements • Objective Review of Student Responses • Instructional Strengths and Needs

16. RATIONALE: WHAT AND WHEN • Authentic Work • Classroom Observations • PLCs, Department, Campus • RESULTS • Changed Practice • Student Voice/Thinking • Continuous Improvement TIMELY AND MEANINGFUL DATA ANALYSIS • RESOURCES • Cycle of Inquiry • Formative Assessment Cycle • Types of Data

17. WHAT IS STUDENT WORK? How would teams examine each? • Oral responses • Writing • Test results – answers to questions • Performance tasks • Integrated Products (PBL, projects, technology)

18. WHEN TO EXAMINE WORK • PLCs • Grade-level/department meetings • Ongoing study groups (action research) • Vertical and horizontal group meetings • Selecting and implementing new curriculum or strategy • As part of larger professional development

19. WHAT DO WE LEARN? “Rich, complex work samples show us • how students are thinking, • the fullness of their factual knowledge, • the connections they are making. Talking about them together in an accountable way helps us to learn how to adjust instruction to meet the needs of our students.” Kate Nolan, Director of Re-Thinking Accountability for the Annenberg Institute of School Reform

20. HOW DOES EXAMINING STUDENT WORK HELP TEACHERS? “The practice of having teachers work together to study student work is one of the most promising professional development strategies in recent years. Examining student work helps teachers intimately understand how state and local standards apply to their teaching practice and to student work.” Joan Richardson, editor of the National Staff Development Council newsletter (Learning Forward)

21. RATIONALE • Collaborating about “Real Stuff” • Build Teams • Differentiate PD • RESULTS • Focus on Data • Inquiry Model • School Improvement PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACTION RESERACH • RESOURCES • PD Strategies Improve Instruction • Cycle of Inquiry • TCDSS Action Research Guide

22. HOW DOES LFSW PROVIDE PD? Teachers examine their own practice through the lens of student needs rather than the lens of good versus mediocre teaching.

23. WHY COLLABORATE IN A PLC? The most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is developing the ability for school personnel to function as professional learning communities. DuFour and Eaker, 1998

24. HOW DOES LFSW BUILD TEAMS/PLCS? • Focuses on neutral, observable data • Challenges assumptions • Helps build common understanding of knowledge and skills students need • Leads to discussions of work quality • Supports a culture of improvement

26. RATIONALE • Multiple Viewpoints & Strategies • Deeper Understanding • Shared Vision & Commitment • RESULTS • Effective Teams (PLCs) • Trusting, Collegial Culture • Shared Commitment to • High Performance SHARED RESPONSIBILITY • RESOURCES • Stages of Teams/Trust • Success Analysis Protocol • Tools for Schools (Learning Forward) • Website: nsf.org

27. PERFORMING = COMMITMENT

28. HOW DO TEAMS DEVELOP TRUST?

29. WHAT ELSE CAN TEACHERS EXPECT? • Team consensus of what constitutes proficient work • Formative assessment data • Specific information to inform their instruction • Strategies for re-teaching • Deeper understanding of the intent of the assessed standard / indicator • Probing questions to ask students to better understand where they were School Improvement in Maryland @ mdk12.0rg

30. RATIONALE • Effective Teams (PLCs) Raise Expectations • Talking about Instruction • Helps Teachers to Improve • RESULTS • Focus on Learning • Attainment of Goals • Increased Achievement INCREASED STUDENT LEARNING • RESOURCES • “PLCs: PD Strategies that Improve Instruction” • Formative Assessment Cycle • Website: http://www.allthingsplc.info/evidence/evidence.php

31. GETTING TO KNOW THE LEARNER Student’s response is the end product of his/her thinking. Analyze to inform instruction. • Do students have any skills or knowledge to build on? • Do we need a total reteaching of a content? • Are students lacking skills and/or content knowledge? • Is the design of the assessment itself an issue?

32. HOW DOES LFSW FOCUS ON RESULTS? • Determine the nature and extent of student understanding. • Clarify learning expectations. • Agree on criteria for proficiency. • Judge the quality of a task. • Determine the implications for instructional practice.

33. EXAMINE STUDENT WORK • FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT CYCLE • ADMINISTER TASKS (STUDENT WORK) • INFORM TEACHER KNOWLEDGE • INFORM INSTRUCTION

34. LET’S PRACTICE • At your tables, work in groups of 4. • Each person select one protocol to review. • Share purpose and general process. • Talk together about how your campus/district teams might use the protocols.

35. Teachers collaborating about student work analyze REAL data to promote increased student and staff learning.

36. EXAMINING STUDENT WORK: HIGH-IMPACT RESULTS • BEST PRACTICE • INCREASED STUDENT LEARNING • CURRICULUM ALIGNMENT • EXAMINING STUDENT WORK • TIMELY AND MEANINGFUL DATA ANALYSIS • SHARED RESPONSIBILITY • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACTION RESEARCH

37. CELEBRATE COLLABORATIVE SUCCESS!

38. “LEADING LEADERSHIP” Leadership Tools to Guide Data Analysis: Examining Student Work

39. NECESSARY LEADERSHIP • Building the Culture • Building Teacher Capacity • Building Effective Teams • Building Rockets – Overcoming Barriers

40. BUILDING THE CULTURE What are the systemic pieces needed in a school to measure student progress over time? What needs to occur?

41. Decisions to Collect Data • Building and Administering Assessments • Collect Data and Provide to Teachers • Analyze Data for Instructional Decisions • Data and Student Work Samples Discussed by Teams • Student Work Used to Collaboratively Determine Proficiency • Student Work Used to Decide Next Learning Steps

42. PURPOSE: Building Teacher Capacity • Enhanced collaboration and trust • Increased instructional tools • Shared leadership • Shared responsibility

43. MATCHING LEADERSHIP TO TEAM DEVELOPMENT http://team-activator.com/leadership.html

44. OVERCOMING BARRIERS “Anyone who goes up in this can will be a “spam in a can!” • Time • Fear of Failure • Dysfunctional Team – Lack of Trust • Lack of Structure/Processes • Lack of Instructional Resources