Pre-Assessments & Differentiation

The idea can be overwhelming.  I was doing some research on differentiation…looking for ways to make the idea “approachable,” and I came across this from a website you really should explore.

http://www.byrdseed.com/six-traits-of-quality-pre-assessments/

One of my favorite things to do is synthesize information and figure out an easier way to look at the combination of ideas.  We know we need to improve differentiation for students.  We know we need to pre-assess.  We know.  We know.  We KNOW!  But why don’t we do it more?  We need all these things we KNOW to be combined in a way that we feel like we CAN DO them.  That’s where my brain has been swirling over the last month.  I’m determined to feel like I can tackle this and teach it.  One thing that might help us is to look at using KUDo’s instead of “I Can” statements.  By spending a little more time on the learning objectives, the differentiation and preassessment pieces seem a little more feasible.  Check out what this man has to say…LOVE the idea of adding “some, most, all” to the learning objective.

http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/10/23/learning-objectives-the-basics/

I learned about KUDo’s through a book by Diane Heacox.  (Making Differentiation a Habit:  How to Ensure Success in Academically Diverse Classrooms) 

What do you want the students to KNOW?  What do you want the students to UNDERSTAND?  What do you want the students to be able to DO?

Synthesize these ideas…where do the words ALL, SOME, MOST belong in the KUDo’s?  Maybe they already know it (preassess).  So now what?.  Don’t forget to consider higher order thinking such as Revised Bloom’s when you begin to plan your lessons and the applications.  Nice synthesis, don’t you think?

Yes, there’s much more work to be done.  I’m still researching, but I liked these ideas and wanted to share.

Okay…so now a favor.  I’m not sure how many teachers know about the blog.  Share the link with someone.  If you haven’t signed up to receive alerts when a new post is added, consider signing up.

They Will Not Forget You

Ever thought about how you will be remembered by your students?  I know we might have some years (those first ones)… we’d like to go apologize.  Is that out of the ordinary or is that your ordinary?

This weekend I was talking with my mom about my school years.  I was curious how my teachers would fit into the classrooms of today, and I wondered “What would I think of myself if I were my own teacher?”  (Does that make any sense?)  I came to the conclusion that I remember the teachers that had passion and made a big difference or the ones that hurt me.  Not much about teachers that didn’t fit into one of those categories.  I also decided my teachers could have pushed me a lot harder.  They had no idea how little effort I was putting forward, nor did I.

Tonight, I was on Pinterest and somehow, I ended up at this article.  WARNING…it’s powerful.  BUT, know this…if you feel like you want to add more critical and creative thinking in your rooms…and you don’t want this to be your students… take some baby steps. Trying is a GREAT start.

Is this your student?

Who’s in for 2015?  Show your passion and make the year unforgettable for amazing reasons!!  It’s not too late for the students you have right now.

A “Convergence” of Circumstances

National Association for Gifted Convention in Baltimore, Maryland.  With a program book that is 174 pages, sessions for time slots that exceed 30 options, choosing what to attend isn’t an easy task.  Keeping your brain from overload and shutting down is no small task either!  Heather Knox (Hobgood), Christy Robinson (Black Fox), and Cherry Ross (Overall Creek), and I rarely cross paths in this convention center that overlooks the Orioles’ Stadium.  You can only image how many ideas we are collecting to bring back to our system.

Tonight we thought we’d share some of our favorite “a-ha’s” from today.

• Concept maps are an avenue to help us make stronger connections to content we already know, both cross-curricular and among grade levels.
• We all need to keep in mind that the realistic path for gifted students is not usually a straight line.
• Math is about problem solving, and the answer is only a small percentage of what we are trying to achieve.  Teachers focus on what they’ve been taught.
• As teachers, we have to be very careful of our words.  Criticism sounds very loud in the brains of our students, especially for students with exceptionalities.  It can shut them down.
• When we say, “Kids these days can’t think,” they’ve learned to answer our questions.
• As soon as you step up out of college, worksheets don’t show up in your “in box.”  You have to problem solve.
• Sixty to eighty percent of elementary math books are review from year-to-year.  With a focus on problem solving and stronger connections to prior learning, we can make more strides in growth.
• For students that are gifted or ADHD, complex information is comprehended very easily through infographics.
• If we know that the “stand and deliver” method of teaching is not effective, why do we still do it?  What’s best for “me” isn’t always best for “them.”  Student interviews make students feel like the curriculum is about “them” and will reveal the truth about student needs.
• Teachers teach strategies, not skills.  Complex tasks will require strategies.
• The more highly gifted a student is, the more wait time they need to think and compose their thoughts.
• Homework has little to no affect on student achievement.  The homework they have should grow study habits.  The MOST IMPORTANT thing gifted kids need (all grades) is 20 minutes of reading at night and conversation at the dinner table.  Ouch!

A final thought for the night…

At the first session this morning that I attended, one of the speakers shared the story of the ship called “Tenacious” that was part of the Fastnet Race of 1979 in England. One of the worst days in history.  A freak storm that struck 300 vessels came with little or no warning. During the storm, everything mattered.  Life or death decisions.

In education, we are at a time when we aren’t sure what’s coming.  During this storm, everything matters.  From the skippers to the direction of our sails, we must be mindful of every choice we make each day.  As the day in 1979 when Tenacious won even in the face of the disaster, we can be certain, those who are tenacious will be a top finisher in the race.  Persisting in existence.  Perhaps we just need to adjust our sails.

Higher order thinking is for all students.  Not just gifted students.  These strategies work for all students.

How’s your ship sailing?

Two Days As a Student…What Would YOU say?

I love when I get links to amazing articles that stimulate self-reflection.  Recently I got this one…

ARTICLE

One thing that works very well with gifted students (ALL students actually) is teaching them to consider the viewpoint of others.  It’s one thing to TEACH the concept…but what about our belief system…do you believe it with conviction?  Do you LIVE it?  Or just believe this process should be taught?

Think of the benefits of considering the viewpoint of others.  Problem-solving.  Critical thinking.  Compassion.  Patience. Relationship building.  Who couldn’t get better at any of those??  I like to use this document to give students (and teachers or parents) a tool to help create that thinking groove, if you will.  You can see it here.

reasoningevent(1)

This idea is important.  But don’t let the big idea of the article slip by you.  Considering the point of view is a vehicle that delivers you to the important place…the main reason I decided to write today.

Let’s paint a picture that relates to you…long day.  Plans didn’t go right.  Parent email.  Evaluation is tomorrow.  Raining outside.  Oh…it’s a short week.  Students were out on Monday (Why are those weeks always longer?).  You forgot to turn in paper work that was due on Friday.  Your head is killing you.  The headache is probably because you didn’t get to eat lunch which means you are starving.  Good news!  It’s faculty meeting day.  You arrive.  Get an agenda but the first thing out of the principal’s mouth is…the agenda has changed.  We have a few guests coming as well as covering the other 10 items.  Fifteen minutes.  Twenty.  Thirty.  Forty.  On item 3 and 4 guest speakers to go.  OH…DEAR!

Want to scream?  Hard to focus?  Frustrated?  Hate it when people read the PowerPoint to you?  Leave you in your seat for an hour?  Don’t stick to a plan?  Bite off more than you can chew?  Have trouble focusing when you’re tired and hungry…and have a headache?

Wouldn’t it have been nice if the principal re-organized, prioritized, and presented the info in a way that would be easier to absorb?  Frustrating, isn’t it?  What if the principal called you up during your planning with an email that said, “Come see me.  I need your input.  I’d like to consolidate the info for today’s meeting and would like to see what you think.”  Or something similar.  How would you feel?

Why do we forget that our students are people, too?  They need us to hear them and consider their point of view.  Funny thing is…everyone would win if we did this more often.

Don’t get so caught up in the “To Do” list that you lose sight of the purpose and possibilities.  You know how you feel when someone wastes your time, ask you to do busy work or work you don’t see relevant, or how you feel on those impossible days.  Imagine what would happen if you consider the view point of others…and it built…Problem-solving.  Critical thinking.  Compassion.  Patience. Relationships.  Sounds like a really good formula for amazing teacher to me!

What would you write about yourself from your students’ point of view, and what are you going to do about it?

Actual Time Reading

Down to the minute…how much actual time do your students read each day? Write?  Not filling in blanks or giving simple responses, but composing thoughts from within his or her own thinking?

A few years ago, a friend and I decided to chart our school day to see actual instructional time.  We used Excel to create a chart showing each minute of the day.  It was eye opening.  I wanted to make sure that I was organizing the day to squeeze every ounce of learning opportunity from the school day and with a few minor changes, I squeezed even more out of the schedule.

This came to mind as I was reading research by Richard Allington.  His paper was explaining what practice they found in highly effective classrooms.  One thing in effective classrooms?  Students were reading and writing 50% of the day.  More commonly, in other classrooms, they found the amount to be around 10%.  This made me think about the previous charts of instructional time. Stopped me dead in my tracks.  I wasn’t sure what my percentage would have been.  I think my “intention percentage”, if you will, would have been high.  Not sure if my actual classroom time would reflect 50%.  Pretty sure it wouldn’t.

If you took your daily lesson plans and accounted for the time students were reading and writing, real reading and real writing, where would you fall?  I think it would be worth the self-reflection.  With Common Core and PARCC, no time like the present to make these changes.

Other great reminders from the report were model, provide open-ended questions, give explicit instruction, and allow time for students to talk about the content.

 

But if you want to read it for your own take-away, here’s the link to his article called “What I’ve Learned About Effective Reading Instruction From a Decade of Studying Exemplary Elementary Classroom Teachers.”

 

Richard L. Allington

Group for Differentiation with Ease

(Should I tell you the names of the individuals sharing the ideas?  I haven’t been, but I’ve decided I can no longer keep the secrets.  I must tell you from this point on!  This entry comes from Mrs. Strevel at Scales.)

It’s amazing to me how the things teachers do are “just what we do” to the point we don’t even realize how wonderful they really are!  That happened today.  During a conversation, Mrs. Strevel referenced putting Post-it notes on the desks of her student to make small groups for further instruction based on needs.  I asked her to explain how that worked.

While she teaches her lesson, she places different color Post-it notes on the desks according to how the students are performing (need help, almost have it, got it, etc.).  After the lesson, this system provides her with immediate groups ready for small group instruction based on the previous lesson.

That’s not all.  As exit tickets, she gives a slip of paper with a small task from the lesson.  Those exit tickets give her one more peek at levels of performance.  She then groups according to student needs, and again the next morning, codes the desk for small group instruction.  In addition to Post-it notes, she uses instructional tools, such as pattern blocks or money.  Calling groups then becomes another instructional review.

Brilliant.

Why do we insist on making our job harder?  This is so easy.  And why didn’t I think of this???  To her, it’s just “what she does.”  We should share more of what we do!!

So…let’s get some comments going here…what do YOU do?

Is It Ever Okay to Give Up?

Ever feel like giving up?

This little elderly lady (precious woman) lives across the street from me.  As I arrived at home after “one of those days,” I went to see her.  Trying to salvage any part of my day, I failed to notice the smile on her face was not an accurate indicator of HER day.

She proceeded to explain all the mishaps of her day, and I’ll admit, my day was looking up compared to her day.  After visualizing her picking up each and every blueberry that fell from her car in her garage (one by one),  I began to put some things into perspective; however, my learning curve was not over.

Her granddaughter’s friend had been trying to repair her washing machine.  He called her that day and she continued with the story….

“So when my granddaughter’s friend called, asking me to try out that troubled leaky washing machine,  I said NOT TODAY.”

That’s when it hit me.  It’s okay to give up for an afternoon.  She realized she wasn’t in a place to face the results-good or bad.  The day was full. No vacancies. Done.  Over. Closed for maintenance.

I peered into her weary face, which still sparkled with a smile, and I said, “You’re still smiling.”  This precious lady sweetly said, “What else can I do but smile.”

I decided then and there to keep smiling and let myself give up for the rest of the day.  I gave myself permission to “save the leaky washing machine for tomorrow.”  It’s okay to take a break.

Be proud of what you accomplished today and forgive yourself for what you didn’t.  It’s okay to give up for an afternoon.   Be closed for maintenance.  As a matter of fact, your mental health needs you to take that break some times.  The fresh start in the morning might give you the very answer you’ve been missing.