Do Now

1. Do Now • On post-its, write a definition, description, and/or examples of at least 2 of the following terms: • Rigor • Differentiated Instruction • Scaffolding • Text Complexity • Hang each post-it on the corresponding poster paper

2. The Path to Career and College Readiness: Revisiting why we pursue, what we know about, and how we support differentiated instruction Heidi A. Ramirez, PhD Chicago Literacy Leadership Conference , July 30, 2014

3. Session Goals • Clarify key terms and strategies guiding efforts to improve college and career readiness • Do you and your staff have shared language and expectations—across programs, departments, etc.? • Where do you have consensus and where do you need it? • Reflect on differentiated instruction in practice—unpacking myths and manipulations in pursuit of effective instruction • Are you clear about the challenges? • Consider the coherence question—how can you better frame, communicate, and support differentiated instruction in the larger reform context

4. US Students Perform Well Internationally TIMMS/PIRLS (4th grade, 2011 test) • Reading: Statistically significantly out-scored by only 4 countries (and gained 14 points since 2001) • Math: Performed near middle of second-tier countries (w/ 23-point gain since 1995) • Science: Statistically significantly out-scored by 6 countries

5. … and US students continue to make progress

6. … though performance varies by state

7. … and progress has been elusive in Illinois • No significant difference: • between percent at/above proficient on NAEP in 2013 (34%) and in 2011 (33%) or 2003 (31%)-- of IL 4th graders; no significant change at Basic • in average IL 4th grade score between 2011 (219) or 2003 (216) • on score gaps between high- and low- performing, black and white, or high- and low-poverty students, 2011-2013 In 2013, average IL NAEP score was: -lower than in 29 states/jurisdictions -higher than in 11 -not significantly different from 11

8. Illinois ACT Scores also show little progress in improving Career and College Readiness

9. US Schools serve more diverse students, especially in urban districts TUDA districts by percent 4th-grade FRPL-eligible students (2013) TUDA districts by percent white 4th-grade students (2013) http://nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_tuda_2013/#/tuda-the-same

10. About 30% of K-12 population in the US (~15 million students) attends schools in urban districts Significant gaps persist for urban districts Trend in average public school 4th-grader on NAEP reading http://nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_tuda_2013/#/large-cities

11. While public school students in large cities are consistently out-performed by their non-urban counterparts on NAEP, students in TUDA districts are making greater gains. … Even though urban districts are improving faster than others Change in average scores for 4th and 8th-grade public school students on NAEP mathematics and reading (2002, 2003, and 2013) http://nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_tuda_2013/#/large-cities

12. … And Chicago’s growth is out-pacing the Nation

13. … But Career and College Readiness requires even more, faster

14. … and calls for an updated instructional pathway to Career and College Readiness Framework for Teaching (Danielson, 1996, 2007) Planning & Preparation Classroom Environment RIGOR Professional Responsibilities Instruction 14

15. Illinois Model for Teacher Evaluation and Support

16. Academic Rigor:What do we mean and how do we measure it?

17. Rigor: What is it? “encourage[s] students to think critically, creatively, and more flexibly… learning environments that are … stimulating, engaging, and supportive… help students understand knowledge and concepts that are complex, ambiguous, or contentious, and to acquire skills that they can apply… throughout their lives” “academic relevance and critical-thinking skills such as interpreting and analyzing… making connections referring to learning standards and high expectationsstandards, … educational equity” (http://edglossary.org/rigor/)

18. Rigor: Samples from CCSS

19. Read Abstract Rigor Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Collaboration and Leadership Agility and Adaptability Initiative and Entrepreneurialism Effective Oral and Written Communication Accessing and Analyzing Information Curiosity and Imagination (Wagner, “Rigor Redefined” in Educational Leadership, October 2008, Volume 66, Number 2:20-25)

20. Rigor through CCSS Shifts in ELA/Literacy • Building knowledge through content-rich, non-fiction and informational texts [Reading Standards #1-10 in ELA and Reading Standards for History/SS, Science, and Technology] • Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from the text [Reading Standard #1, Speaking and Listening Standard #1, and Writing Standards #1, #2, #9] • Regular practice with complex texts and their academic vocabulary [Reading Standards #10 and #4]

21. Higher Standards: CCSS English Language Arts “Read like a detective and write like an investigative reporter” – David Coleman, CCSS author “The goal for readers of all ages is to be able to understand and learn from what they read and to express such knowledge clearly through speaking and writing about text.” “The standards focus intently on students reading closely to draw evidence from the text and are emphatic about students reading texts of adequate range and complexity.” (Publishers’ Criteria for the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy, Grades 3-12, CCSSO )

22. Career and College Readiness calls for More Informational Text Percentage distribution of literary and informational passages: Informational text is key! Source: National Assessment Governing Board. Reading Framework for the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Washington, D.C.: American Institutes for Research, 2009.

23. Career and College Readiness calls for Increased Text Complexity

24. Text Complexity • The variables that affect “text complexity” the most are: • Structure • Purpose • Style and language • Richness • Relationships • Knowledge demand

25. Text Complexity • Qualitative measures- levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands • Quantitative measures- word length or frequency, sentence length, and text cohesion • Reader and task considerations- motivation, knowledge, and experiences

26. “We must open the doors of opportunity. But we must also equip our people to walk through those doors.” --Lyndon B. Johnson

27. Differentiated Instruction:What is it?

28. Traditional Differentiation

29. Differentiated Instruction What is it? “…a process to approach teaching and learning for students of differing abilities in the same class. The intent is to maximize each student's growth and individual success by meeting each student where he or she is . . . rather than expecting students to modify themselves for the curriculum (Hall, 2002 based on researchers National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum)

30. Differentiated Instruction “A concept that makes it possible to maximize learning for ALLstudents. …a collection of instructionally intelligent strategies based on student-centered, best practices that make it possible for teachers to meaningfully respond to the needs of diverse learners. … made possible by modifying the content, process and/or product of instruction of a particular student or small group of students (typically to scaffold and extend learning), rather than the more typical pattern of teaching the class as though all individuals in it were basically the same.  Differentiated instruction is an approach to ensuring all children achieve to the same high standards; instructional approaches are varied, not the expectations or the standards” (As drafted, from across the literature, by Milwaukee Public Schools, 2011)

31. Ways to Differentiate Instruction • Content- What is the standard to which I am going to teach? What skill am I going to teach? • Process- How am I going to teach that skill in a variety of ways that will address the developmental levels of each of my students? • Product- What will my students produce as evidence of understanding of the skill?

32. Differentiated, Complex, Informational Text • Read a sample article (“Remembering the Past”) from the set. • As you read, consider: • reading level and text complexity of the article • Trade sample article with a colleague w/ a different color. • As you read, consider: • reading level and text complexity of the article • how the different texts (different colors) are similar and different

33. Effective Differentiated Instruction • Focuses on the essential ideas and skills of the content area, eliminating ancillary tasks and activities • Responds to individual student differences (e.g., learning style, prior knowledge, interests, level of engagement) • Groups students flexibly by shared interest, topic, or ability • Integrates ongoing and meaningful assessments w/ instruction • Continually assesses, reflects, and adjustscontent, process, and product to meet student needs • Meaningful, timely, task-specific feedback (Anderson, 2007; Rock, Gregg, Ellis, & Gable, 2008; Tomlinson, 2000 as cited in Huebner, 2010)

34. 38 Differentiated Instruction is not: the same as an intervention just literacy workstations only for struggling students added work

35. Instructional Scaffolding “What's the opposite of scaffolding a lesson?” It would be saying to students something like, ‘Read this nine-page science article, write a detailed essay on the topic it explores, and turn it in by Wednesday.’ Yikes -- no safety net, no parachute, no scaffolding -- just left blowing in the wind” (Alber, Teacher Leadership, “Six Scaffolding Strategies to Use with Your Students,” May 2011).

36. Instructional Scaffolding specialized instructional supports need to be in place to facilitate learning support given during learning process tailored to the needs of the student to help student achieve his/her goals “enables a student to solve a problem, carry out a task, or achieve a goal through a gradual shedding of outside assistance. …enlists the instructor as an activator… to facilitate the student’s incremental mastery of a concept” “a temporary framework for construction in progress” (Cazden, 1983:6)

37. Scaffolding, examples Resources (e.g., dictionaries, second language supports, audio-supports, maps) Pre-teaching key words and/or concepts Previewing or chunking content Asking guiding questions Accessing/building background knowledge Providing templates, sentence starters, graphic organizers, note-taking/study guides Modeling a task, leading a “think-aloud”, coaching Helping with goal setting and on-going progress monitoring

38. Differentiation to Promote Discussion Same topic, differentiated to meet each student, so every student takes part in discussions. 800L 250L 450L Independent vocabulary learning Embedded language supports Audio scaffolds for struggling readers

39. Scaffolding Example: Achieve3000 “read as you go” *Math Tab Excluded

40. Scaffolding Example: Highlighting for close reading strategiesand note-taking Reach

41. Scaffolding Example: Audio support, “read-as-you-go” audio with highlighting

42. Differentiated Instruction: Continuous Monitoring and Flexible Grouping re: Standards

43. Differentiated Instruction: Individual Learning Pathways (w/ NWEA-MAP)

44. Differentiated Instruction: Individual Learning Pathways (w/ NWEA-MAP)

45. Differentiated Instruction: Individual Learning Pathways (w/ NWEA-MAP)

46. Differentiation in Practice: What really happens in classrooms?

47. While educators understand that not all learners are the same, and that their needs are diverse, few teachers accommodate these differences in their classrooms (Gable, Hendrickson, Tonelson, and Van Acker, 2000; Guild, 2001) Uniformity, rather than attending to diversity, dominates the culture of many contemporary classrooms (Gable et al., 2000; Guild, 2001; Sizer, 1999) And failed efforts can sometimes be worse than no effort to differentiate instruction

48. When Myths and Misunderstandings Prevail: Multiple Intelligences It’s dangerous when students are “typecast” as readers/writers, drawers, actors and their access to rigor is limited by these (e.g., group work w/ assigned roles) Visual-Spatial- think in terms of physical space, like architects and sailors. Very aware of their environments. Like to draw, do jigsaw puzzles, read maps, daydream. Bodily-kinesthetic- use the body effectively, like a dancer or a surgeon. Keen sense of body awareness. Like movement, making things, touching. Musical- show sensitivity to rhythm and sound. Like music, but they are also sensitive to sounds in their environments. Interpersonal- understanding, interacting with others. Learn through interaction. They have many friends, empathy for others, street smarts. Intrapersonal- understanding one's own interests, goals. Tend to shy away from others, are in tune with their inner feelings; they have wisdom, intuition and motivation, as well as a strong will, confidence and opinions. Linguistic- using words effectively. Have highly developed auditory skills and often think in words. Like reading, playing word games, making up poetry or stories. Logical –Mathematical-reasoning, calculating. Think conceptually, abstractly and are able to see and explore patterns and relationships. Like to experiment, solve puzzles, ask cosmic questions.

49. When Myths and Misunderstandings Prevail: Leveled Texts/Readers Can lead to static student groups, limited teacher support, and lack of access to grade-level content Research on effectiveness is unclear Based on theory of Zone of Proximal Development Foundation of Calkins’Reading and Writing Project/Workshop, “just right” books “Research shows … matching kids to books does not guarantee big learninggains…” (Shanahan blog, 2013) “… If reasonable levels of instructional support are available then students are likely to thrive when working w/ harder texts” (Shanahan, 2011, http://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/2011/08/rejecting-instructional-level-theory.html)

50. When Myths and Misunderstandings Prevail: Activating Prior Knowledge Readers use prior knowledge to understand texts. “Having more prior knowledge generally aids comprehension. There are many aspects to prior knowledge, including knowledge of the world, cultural knowledge, subject-matter knowledge and linguistic knowledge. A reader’s interest in a subject matter will also influence the level of prior knowledge. All of these… are important to different degrees, depending on the reading task” (Pang, Muaka, Bernhardtand Kamil, 2003:13).