IM SHIPLEY & ASSOCIATE

1. J S IM SHIPLEY & ASSOCIATE Integrated Systems Solutions First Steps in Using A Systems Approach to Improve Learning Results

2. Thank you for bringing your laptop! We won’t need it till the end of our time together! You can put it away for now! Thanks! 

3. Objective for today: To learn what it takes to implement the initial components of a systems approach to continuous improvement as the most efficient and effective way to improve classroom learning results.

4. Most Importantly: We want everyone to have an overview of how the systems approach to learning will affect our classrooms and our campus during the 2012-2013 school year!

5. The Systems Approach For the last two years we have used the systems approach with our department goals! Next year will bring the PDSA systems approach to our classrooms!

6. Using a Consensogram Using your red dot indicate the level of knowledge you have in how to utilize a Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle to improve school and/or classroom processes. Take a moment to share with your table members where you put your dot and why. 1 Don’t even know what it is! 2 Know what it stands for but don’t know why I should use it 3 Know what and why, but don’t know how 4 Ready to implement PDSA Establish the Baseline…

7. Four Questions to Consider… • How do you know what your students need to know and be able to do next week? • How will you know when they’ve learned it? • What will you do if they haven’t learned it? • What will you do if they already know and/or can do it? • Adapted from the work of DuFour, DuFour, Eaker and Karhanek, 2004 • Whatever It Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don’t Learn

8. First, what is a system? • A group of interacting, interrelated, and/or interdependent elements forming a complex whole. • A functionally related group of elements. • A condition of harmonious, orderly interaction. • An organized and coordinated method; a procedure.

9. So . . . • A systems approach to continuous improvement is a way or method of helping us pay attention not only to the parts, but also to how well the parts work together as we try to get better and better results. • In the case of a classroom, a systems approach to continuous improvement helps us pay attention to the right parts (standards, instruction, assessment, etc) and how all those parts work together to produce learning. Some teachers think of it as a blueprint for making sure we get good results on purpose, not by accident.

10. When we put all the pieces together, we see the classroom as a learning system…

11. One of the first steps is to identify our critical learning requirements . . . . We all have state or national standards that we are held accountable to!

12. Each standard in a particular content or program area can have multiple indicators, and each indicator can have one or more objectives... STANDARD INDICATOR INDICATOR INDICATOR INDICATOR Objective • Objective • Objective • Objective • Objective • Objective • Objective • Objective • Objective • Objective

13. Unpacking the standards is a way to get to the critical learning requirements and clearly define what students need to know, be able to, and/or care about. Unpacking the standards allows teachers to… • Manage the standards. • Link assessments to the standards. • Plan for aligned instruction.

14. Knowing what my students need to know and be able to do... Nice to Know/Do Important Critical Learning Requirements

15. For most of us, we have already unpacked our standards OR we are still exploring our new Common Core standards! If you are still working with new standards, it would be important to go through the unpacking process with your level or department members!

16. (We are more familiar with the phrase “unwrapping the standards” and unwrapping is EXACTLY the same as unpacking!)

17. Unpacking the Standards... • [When you unpack a standard you want to . . .] • Pick one standard and one indicator for your class, course, • or program OR use the following: • Math Standard: Number, Number Sense and Operations • Grade 7 Indicator 1: Demonstrate an understanding of place value using powers of 10 and write large numbers in scientific notation. • What’s in the standard? What’s in the indicator? • Does this indicator focus on declarative knowledge (what) or procedural knowledge (how)? • How could students show they know or can do what is required? • What will students need to do to be ready for the assessment?

18. The Requirements for Teachers and Their Students Our job as teachers is to create the kind of learning system in which all of our students learn and demonstrate proficiency in all content and program areas – not just those tested annually by the state.

19. So, how often should we check to see if our process for developing learning is working… Once a year? State assessment? Four times a year? District benchmark assessment? Every week? Classroom assessment?

20. In order to use a systems approach to improve learning results, the teacher must take the lead with two important steps... SET AND COMMUNICATE DIRECTION FOR CLASS AND FOR STUDENTS. • ENGAGE STUDENTS IN REGULAR AND FREQUENT EVALUATION ANDIMPROVEMENT OF CLASSROOM LEARNING PROCESSES. Today we are looking at just the first step!

21. SET AND COMMUNICATECLASSROOM LEARNINGPRIORITIES. • Step 1: How to clarify and communicate the learning requirements to students and their families. • Step 2: How to publish and post a learning goal for a specific class/content area. • Step 3: How to chart and analyze learning results for the class. • Step 4: How to write and use a class, course, or program mission statement.

22. The getting started steps of continuous classroom improvement are intended to improve learning results!

23. The action steps that we are going to focus on today will provide you with field-tested ways to ensure that you can answer these questions: • What do my students need to know and be able to do as a result of being in my class? • This year? This semester? This grading period? This unit? This week? • How will I know they’ve learned it? • How often do I check? How will I ensure that they know, too? • How many students demonstrated proficiency with the learning target from the previous cycle of learning?

24. More Questions… • What do I do when they haven’t learned it? • What high-yield strategies and interventions can I use? • How will I engage my students in helping me answer this question? • What do I when they already know and/or can do it? • What high-yield strategies and interventions can I use? • How will I engage my students in helping me answer this question?

25. Step 1: Clarify and Communicate the Learning Requirements • Be clear about the learning requirements your class, course, or program. Determine how you will communicate these standards toensure that your students and their families understand the learningrequirements of your class, course, or program.

26. Middle School Visual Arts Standards

27. High school learning requirements for statistics

28. What does this mean for Mountain Ridge? • We will be visually and verbally sharing our learning standards in our classroom. • We will be unpacking the standards for our most important learning objectives.

29. Step 2: Publish and post a class learning goal. • Publish and post one learning goal that aligns to the learning requirements for your class, course or program. Class, course, or program learning goals describe how students will meet or exceed the requirements for student learning and include how performance will be measured...

30. For example… By the end of the school year, 100% of students will meet or exceed proficiency for grade 5 writing standards as measured by district benchmark assessments and the state standards-based assessment. OR

31. By the end of the school year, 100% of 8th grade math students will meet or exceed the 8th grade math standards as measured by a score of 75% or better on the math Benchmarks Test that we will take at the end of each grading period and the State Assessment that we will take in May.

32. Learning requirements for elementary special education classroom

33. Elementary learning goal

34. Music learning goal

35. What does this mean for Mountain Ridge? • We will publish and post one learning goal per quarter. • The goal will be posted in our classroom. • We will do this with just one class period!

36. Step 3: Chart and analyze class learning results. • Create a graph for charting results showing where the class is starting compared to where it needs to be. This is called establishing the baseline.

37. Step 3: Chart and analyze class learning results. • Charting and analyzing learning results over time allows us to monitor progress toward class goals. Your Turn!

38. Special education class learning results

39. Physical education goal

40. Vocabulary goals in a high school special education classroom for intellectually challenged students and students with autism.

41. High school culinary arts goals and learning results

42. What does this mean for Mountain Ridge? • We will display our data charts in our classroom to monitor progress.

43. Step 4: Write and use a class, course, or program mission statement. • Work with students to develop a class/course/program mission statement that aligns to learning requirements and reflects a commitment to closing the achievement gap.

44. Mission for middle school science class

45. Mission for music class

46. More examples on page 26. Mission for high school U.S. history class

47. Mission for physical education class

48. Mission forgrade 2-3 specific learning disabilities class

49. Mission for high school honors world history class

50. Class mission in a high school special education classroom for intellectually challenged students and students with autism.