What is the Purpose?

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.  ~ John F. Kennedy

As we continue to work on the implementation of learning goals and scales in our classrooms, I thought I would share a few thoughts about why this is important, and how we might realistically embed these concepts in our daily instructional practice.

First and foremost, is the notion of "purpose."  As a staff we have had frequent discussions about purposeful practice, and we have spent time reflecting on our lessons and actions, asking: "what is the purpose?"  Knowing why we are doing something helps us develop activities that support our intended outcome, and it adds a sense of relevance to what we are doing.

The purpose, and power, of learning goals and scales has very little to do with how they are posted.  We need to be cautious about thinking of them as something on a long list of things to be "checked off" in order to have a good lesson.  It is the interactions with these tools (for both teacher's and student's) that will ultimately add value to their value.  Marzano's research (as discussed in both Classroom Instruction that Works, and The Art and Science of Teaching) has indicated a clear, and significant, performance gain when students have a clear understanding of what they are learning, and when they frequently reflect on performance and track their progress.  In fact, of the fifteen classroom strategies included in Marzano's meta-analysis, setting goals and objectives and tracking student progress and scoring scales had the highest percentile gains.

That being said, we don't see that kind of gain by simply posting a learning goal and scale in our classrooms.  There must be purposeful interaction with the instruments.  So how do we accomplish this?

1.  As you plan lessons, always keep your learning goal in mind.  The activities you design should lead students to a better understanding of the concepts identified in the learning goal.  If there is not a significant connection, the activity may not be a good use of time.  Reconsider.  Remember, learning goals aren't just for the kids.

2.  Post your learning goal, but be sure to communicate the goal with students.  This might include referencing the goal at appropriate times during the period, but feel free to be sneaky about it - it probably shouldn't always come from you.  Ask a few students to summarize the goal, include it in your warm-up questions, tie it into a ticket out the door, have kids explain it to each other, etc.  The learning goal should be discussed with enough frequency that a majority of students in class could convey the essence of what they are learning (remember, that is the goal).

3.  Make connections between your daily activities and the learning goal (see point #1).  Students should be able to see how individual classroom activities fit into the learning goal.  For example, students who read/discuss the following statement, written on the board, know that they will be analyzing conflicts and writing a new subplot (activities) in an effort to practice understanding and analyzing the elements that contribute to a story (learning goal).

From the classroom of Monica G.

4.  Finally, spend time allowing students to reflect on their progress.  This is the purpose of scales.  It is also a significant challenge since honest and purposeful reflection does not come easily to junior high students.  As you work with students on this skill, start where you want the majority of them to be in the end (a three...if you are using a four point scale).  Explain what it takes to get to that point.  Have them explain where they think they are.  Ask them to consider parts of the learning goal where they might need additional help.  This is going to take practice...for students and teachers.  [More on scales, later.]

Remember that this is a process.  It is going to take time to develop a clear understanding and become comfortable using learning goals and scales.  I know there are still many questions, but we will continue to discuss, share, collaborate and learn together!

Feel free to post comments or questions.

The Little Things

Willis Core Value #5 Willis is a place where doing little things can make a big difference.

I received two e-mails today that have me thinking.  The first was a glowing message from a parent to a team of teachers, thanking them for their efforts with her son.  The second was a message, sent by a former student of  John P., thanking him for the "kindness and attention" shown to her as a student and recognizing John's role as a mentor in her life.  John forwarded this e-mail, to a few colleagues, with the following message:

I send this to you in the sincerest form of humility to say...."Keep doing what you're doing.  If your heart is right and motives sincere we never know the impact we have on our students."

Both of these e-mails are illustrative of the tremendous power of doing little things to recognize the contributions of others.  Take a moment to consider a time when you have received a positive note, phone call, or recognition from a student or parent.  If you are like me, these are the moments that "float the boat"--they reinforce purpose, renew energy and bring a smile.

Now consider how we might translate the positive experience of a compliment, or words of encouragement, to our students and parents.

Edutopia (a great site to follow) recently ran a post entitled, The Power of the Positive Phone Call Home, by Elena Aguilar.  I would encourage you to take a few moments to read the article.  This is obviously not an earth shattering new strategy, but a good reminder of how taking a few minutes to share something positive can have a significant impact on classroom climate.  Even if you don't read the entire article, consider the challenge issued in the last paragraph:

In the long list of priorities for teachers, communicating good news is usually not at the top. But try it -- just for a week -- try calling a few kid's parents (and maybe not just the challenging ones -- they all need and deserve these calls) and see what happens. The ripple effects for the kid, the class, and the teacher might be transformational.

Sometimes the little things make ALL of the difference.

by J. Delp

Keep Singing...

Life is a shipwreck [or at least if feels like that sometimes], but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.  ~ Voltaire

If you are like me, you are probably feeling a bit "stretched" right now.  In addition to the normal stress and chaos of a new school year, we are tackling a number of new initiatives -- some on our own accord, others without much choice.  While I do not subscribe to Voltaire's somber description of life as a shipwreck, I do like the quote for several reasons:

• It recognizes that things are not always easy.  Voltaire doesn't need to tell us...right?  In fact, right now, some of you may be feeling that challenges and frustrations are the norm.  
• It emphasizes the importance of staying positive.  Having a negative attitude about things does nothing to improve any challenging situation, in fact, quite the contrary.  
• It implies that we are in this together.  Collegiality and collaboration are under emphasized, and underutilized, aspects of the educational profession.  We need to believe what we tell our kids - working together really is better.

Remember...ask for help when you need it.  Offer help when you can give it.  Share frustrations, but stay positive.  Lean on each other.  Most importantly, believe in the difference you are making...

...and have fun!

A "Flipped" Faculty Meeting

Our first faculty meeting of the school year is scheduled for Thursday, August 9th at 8:00 a.m. in the media center.  I am determined, to the extent possible, to make these scheduled times - when we are all together - opportunities for us to collaborate, examine instructional practice, discuss student work and LEARN TOGETHER.

To that end, I would like us to focus on the topic of "Learning Goals and Scales" and do so in a "flipped" fashion.  The district has provided a PowerPoint to address these topics, but I do not want to spend valuable time reviewing a presentation.  Instead, I am going to ask you to do that BEFORE you come to our professional development session on Thursday.  The modified presentation (I deleted a number of slides and added a few of my own) is posted below.  I will also send it via e-mail.

Once you have had the opportunity to look over the PowerPoint, please take time to review a few reflection questions on the shared Google Doc (link provided via e-mail), add your thoughts, or comment on any (or all) of the questions, and record any questions you still have about learning goals and scales.  Consider this a virtual discussion.

If you feel like you have a decent handle on these concepts, please consider sharing an example via the "Share to Dropbox" link provided by e-mail.

Finally, I would like everyone to bring ONE learning goal to Thursday's session.  This should be a goal for something you plan on teaching, but for which you have not yet written (or finalized) a scale.  You will be working with this learning goal on Thursday.

To summarize...before Thursday's professional development session:

• Review the PowerPoint presentation - Learning Goals and Scales
• Read over the shared Google Doc (link sent via e-mail); add your thoughts, leave comments and questions
• If you have a good example of a learning goal and associated scale, post it via the e-mailed link
• Bring ONE learning goal - for which you have not written a scale - to Thursday's session

Thanks for modeling the process of life-long learning!

More than a Letter Grade

cc flickr photo by Krissy.Venosdale

Today is the day that the Department of Education will release the A-F letter grades for Arizona schools.  I have to admit, I have spent my fair share of time stressing about how the state's designation might impact perceptions of our school.  Many people will not take time to look beyond the letter grade - they won't get the whole story.  This is unfortunate, because we all know that the value of students, a teaching staff, and schools can not be boiled down to a single letter.

As we consider test scores, and state ratings, it might be tempting to make excuses and dismiss results as unfair and irrelevant.  After all, in many respects, the state letter grade is comparing apples to oranges, right?  It would also be easy to be pessimistic and discouraged by what we read in the paper.  However, neither approach serves the best interest of our students, or school community.  

As I have previously mentioned, we have to be data conscious - recognizing that state testing and rank does have an impact on our students, and school, and taking appropriate steps toward improvement.  We need to use data (well beyond AIMS results) to determine intervention strategies that will improve our instruction and benefit our students -- not because of a letter grade, but because it is the right thing to do for kids.  We must be diligent about improving our instructional practice -- reflective about our teaching, and modeling life-long learning.

Most importantly, we must ensure that we treat every student on our campus as an individual with unique interests, talents, perspectives and immeasurable worth.  We are more than a letter grade!

P.S.  Be proud of what we have accomplished and determined to continue the momentum :)