Data Class: Chapter 3

So far this school year, I have felt like I have had more time to collaborate with the other SLPs in the district than the previous two years I have worked here since we have a working lunch scheduled two time per month (horizontal). In previous years, we only met once a month which made it very difficult to share ideas and problem solve. The downside to this added meeting with the SLPs is that it takes me away from meetings at my home school to collaborate with the classroom teachers (vertical across all grades). My goal would be to be able to find another time/way to collaborate with teachers because I feel like both forms of collaboration are equally important.

Chapter 3

The part of the chapter that most affected me this time around was about the importance of clear learning objectives.  That is something I have somewhat struggled with since most of my kids can't read until the end of the year so if I write them they seem to be mostly for my benefit and honestly with switching my license between 3 states and now adding in common core it is sometimes hard to keep all the objectives straight.  Our principal just bought us new objectives charts and in assembling my objectives, I decided on posting only objectives that have the words WITH an easy to understand icon that accompanies it.  While I was referring to my posted objectives before, now that they have icons my kids are much more invested in them and can  better express to others what they are learning.  I also typed up a checklist of those objectives (in the form of I Can statements) from the Common Core as well as my social studies and science objectives from Oregon in the same format and based off of this chapter I'm going to try to send home the checklist to parents on a regular basis to get the parents as invested in the objectives as their kids are beginning to be.  I'm glad this chapter coincided with the new focus of my school on getting the objectives posted and the book got me motivated to dive slightly more thoroughly into that process than I may have done otherwise.

Data Toolkit: Ch. 3

I think someone else already posted about this, but I like what it said about the importance of not only meeting with "Horizontal" teams, but also "vertical" teams. It's really important to know where the kids are coming from and where they are going.
I am excited to learn more about the Common Core as our district moves in that direction. The concept of it seems like a no-brainer. One of my grade level team members came from a district in Arizona that used Common Core, and she speaks very highly of it. I think that it will really help us with question #1, "What do we want each student to learn?" because we all need to be on the same page.
I love how question # 2, "How will we know when each student has learned it?" ties in so well with what we read in Focus this month. It talks about checking for understanding which is what I have really been focusing on the last couple weeks.
Question #3 is what I have been struggling with most. "How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?" My tier 2 kids are getting an intervention, but my tier 3 kids, who need it most, are not. This has been incredibly frustrating for me. I do what I can, when I can in the classroom, but they really need extra small group support.

More Thoughts on Time: The Small Things

When I went to grad school my favorite master teacher there always talked about the small things that make it or break it for student success.  He taught us the importance of making sure all papers given to students were three hole-punched so that they could go into their binders, about the nuances of grading that could keep a student that didn’t turn in a final project, but learned the science from failing. 

When it comes to our success I think it is the small things that make the difference too.  The two other physical science teachers that I work with are at the opposite sides of the building for me so I never see them to talk about common assessments or lessons that worked well.  We share supplies so science teachers spend a lot of time walking the halls to get what we need to run class.  Small “one time” meetings here and there have prevented our PLC group from working together on a Wednesday for well over a month.  The small things done during scheduling keep us apart too.  An extra new math class for a teacher to teach or volatile combinations of struggling students in the same periods, these seem like small things, I'm sure, when the huge job of master scheduling is in front of you, but they eat away at our time and effect student success. 

What do you think?  What small things eat away at your time and sanity?  

Data Class-Chapter 3

As I started reading this chapter, I was thinking, "Hey, we're doing that stuff!" Data without conversation doesn't mean anything. As a high-needs special ed team, the five teachers in the district spent many hours last year working on a continuum of curriculum. If I have kids working through the same curriculum for six years in my classroom and they move on to something totally unfamiliar in year 7, then it's back to square one for them. On the other hand, if I don't know what students are expected to know in the high school program, what help can I be to those teachers if I'm not at least laying out a base for them to build on. It's hard to collaborate horizontally, but we do a pretty good job vertically. We even created a brochure last year that explains each of the five programs and the curricula that are used in each.

Guiding Questions Put on Hold

For the first three years of my time at LHS my work concentrated on what was going on in my own classroom out of necessity.  What would I teach my students the very next day?  Did I have the supplies I needed to teach?  Was I ready? This year, finally, I no longer find myself in survival mode.  Sometimes I get to think about what project I will choose to work on next.  I sometimes leave from school for the day with all my grading caught up!

I am finally in a place where I have the time and calm mindset that would allow me to truly collaborate.  My department is at the very beginning of the work of a data team: outlining and agreeing upon the most important topics for our class together and looking at the best ways to teach.  We have a lot of work to do.

The real problem is now that I have finally tackled my own personal struggles with limited time (at least for this year) these problems remain for my data group.  In September we planned that we would have some preliminary common assessment data on a state science inquiry project on pulse rate by the end of October.  I have data, I have no idea if anyone else does, and I have no assurances about when we will be able to work together next. 

I agree with Kathy.  The advice given in Hess and Robbins is great – I just don’t know when we will have the chance to follow it.

Focus Ch 3

As I was reading through this chapter, I kind of had a "well, duh" attitude. Those are things I MUST do in my classroom. We CONSTANTLY check for understanding and we do not move on if the student hasn't mastered the concept.

I had a very candid discussion with my principal about this yesterday. In my classroom we have the incredible opportunity to work one on one with students for their academics. This allows us to work at 8 different levels in reading, writing, and math for 8 different students. In our curriculum, we DO NOT move on unless a student has shown that they can perform a task 3/3 times for two consecutive days. We also have the flexibility to go back if a student regresses. In the last year and a half, we have seen SO much growth in our students because they must master a concept before moving on.

We do have one full group session per day where we are working on  basic classroom skills, like raising your hand and waiting your turn. When my students raise their hand quietly, they DO get called on to take a turn every time. They may have to wait for one person to go before them, but they do get their turn.

I do see where it would be beneficial in a gen ed classroom to do frequent checks for understanding. I also like the idea of not having kids always raise their hand. It would be a lot more difficult to know if ALL the students have mastered a concept and would take way too much time to get to every student individually.

On a side note, I did laugh at the football player comment. :) Before I read that he was kidding, I was impressed. I shared with my staff. :)

Book Study: Chapter 3

One of the pieces that stood out in this chapter for me was focusing on teaching vocabulary before reading new vocabulary in a text.  So many of the students I work with have vocabulary building goals, and I would love to be able to help pre-teach vocabulary that my students will be hearing in the classroom in order to improve their understanding of new concepts.  On of the obstacles I have come across is being able to access the vocabulary that teachers are using in the classroom since I work with so many different grades/teachers.  I would love to figure out a system for me to know what vocabulary that is being taught in each class other than going to each teacher individually.

Data Study - Chapter 3

As I spent 6 hours flying across the country last week I had time to ponder what I would change in my teaching in order to make sure my students are understanding or feeling motivated and engaged.  I feel like I have come up with three things that I already do but need to spend more time with.  I really would like more time in collaboration with my teaching partner.  We talk all day about how things are going but never seem to have time to really sit down and plan or talk about change.  It seems ot always be on the fly.  THis is very frustrating to me.  Our 1/2 days are filled with district tasks and the one day we did get collaboration time was this week when I had taken vacation to see my son on the east coast.  Argh!  The next thing I would like to do a better job of in my classroom is giving students more opportunity for reflection across the content areas.  I find this practice to be very valuable to me and I think it helps students feel that what they think and want is so important.  I plan to try and incorporate this once a week in each area.  THey have a writing journal and this could be used as a way to get them writing as well as gain informationm about their personal journey as students in fourth grade.  The third area I want to improve is the time my students spend with writing.  I love to teach writing but it seems that there is never enough time in the day, week, month to really get into a task and take one piece to completion.  I did this before I left on my Thanksgiving break and the kids finished the writing during the short week.  The ones I have read are wonderful and creative.  They struggle to get going but when I give them enough time they do a great job and become more comfortable with this type of communication.  I think the common denominator is TIME.  There is never enough of it. 

Data Toolkit: Ch. 2

Like Amber said, "Better late, than never!" I was late getting this book, so here goes my post from last month.
The problem that I am facing in my first grade class is that many of my students are coming into my class without the skills they should have learned in kindergarten. Because of this a large percentage of my students are reading well below grade level.
I feel really stressed, because there is a lot of pressure to get these students where they need to be by the end of the year. I also feel frustrated that I'm not able to give as much attention to the students who are on track.
The data that I have for reading is running records and EasyCBM progress monitoring.
The data is telling me that these kids need a lot of support.
I am trying to come up with as many opportunities as I can for these students to get extra support, whether it be interventions, peer tutors, or small group/ one on one time with me.

Focus-Chapter 3

During the first couple months of school I was guilty of calling on the students who raised their hands, but quickly noticed the pattern of who was going to raise their hand every time, and who was going to fly under the radar. The kids who were raising their hands were the ones who I already knew knew the answers. In the past couple of weeks I have had a couple different trainings that have helped me with this, and it really aligns with what Schmoker says in the section for checking for understanding. Since then I have been limiting my questions that allow for one or two students to answer by being called on. In ECRI training I learned that if a question has a short answer that I can use a hand signal to have the students give a choral response. If the answer is longer, or will have varying answers, I will have the students "pair share," as I circulate and listen for understanding. Before, I didn't spend a lot of time with "pair share," because I felt like the kids would get off task, but I'm am finding it to be a great way to check for understanding. Afterwards I like to either share some of the interesting things that I heard, or have a few students share.

Data Analysis: Chapter 3

As someone else mentioned in a post, I too feel that this chapter was not really new information but rather a "reminder" of how to accomplish solid improvement in the classroom/student achievement.

One thing that did stick out to me was the importance of not only meeting with your grade level team, but the teams of those in front and behind you. It seems as though there is little to no time  to communicate with teachers on the sides of your grade level, and I feel like it would be a great resource of information for the different grades to collaborate more often. In the book, it talks about how if we form these vertical grade level teams, the entire school improves. It makes me wonder why we aren't taking the time to collaborate more with our "vertical" team?

Ch. 3 - The Three Guiding Questions

I found that the section about asking the right questions was very appealing to me. I am doing the FbI project and since I teach lower grades I am having troubles with what types of questions to ask, and how to ask them so students will understand instead of just click an answer. I do not want too many questions but I want to gather enough information. Finding what questions are the right questions to ask will take some trial and error.

I also think that the question of "how will we know when each student has learned it"is a very important question yet it is a very complicated question. I have a big class and students at many different levels who think in many different ways. There are many different ways that a student could show me that they have learned something and that sometimes the curriculum doesn't allow for many different ways to show learning. I have found that looking at an end of the unit test and re-writing it so there are many different questions (write, draw pictures, think of an opposite etc.) to show different ways of thinking has been the best way for me to gather data and allow students to show me how they have learned something.

Ch. 3 - How we teach

I thought that the part of effective lessons was interesting and I was able to reflect on my teaching. I do state my objectives although I have found it somewhat tricky because I teach a lower grade. I often draw picture like math symbols or write the main idea rather than objectives because I find my students will read or look at them if they are short or eye catchy with pictures. I am still trying out different ways of stating objectives so that I can reach all students - even the ones that are unable to read.

I also practice the "I do, we do, you do" and find that it works well especially teaching something that they are not familiar with. Sometimes I find that the "we do" or guided practice is the strongest part of the lesson. I do think that I can be better at checking for understanding throughout a lesson, it is easier for me to do in some subjects, but I need to do a better job at checking more often.

Book Study Chapter 3: How We Teach

Checking for understanding was a big component of this chapter for me. It is something I try and do multiple times a day. Schmoker talks about how this means so much more than the simple "raise your hand if you have a question or don't understand." I feel it is so important to check in with your students to see what they have gained or learned from your teaching. What your students reflect back to you is critical in knowing the success of the lesson, and the success of your student. I feel this is especially important in math. My students know they get a "quiz" at the end of each math lesson. I take the concept and write at least 2-3 problems that they must solve at the end of the lesson, and I collect them and use it to guide where I go the next day in math. Because of the daily quiz, students tend to be focused and engaged in math better than when I didn't implement them. They are held responsible for their learning each and every day. 

"Focus": Chapter 3 Reflection

How We Teach.

I enjoyed reading this chapter because I agree with the importance of effective lessons that incorporate clear objectives, teaching/modeling, guided practice, and a big focus on checks for understanding. One quote that really stuck out to me states, "This ongoing 'check for understanding' allows the teacher to see what needs to be clarified or explained in a different way, when to slow down, or when it's all right to speed up the pace of the lesson." There are many times when I feel pressured to keep the lesson moving when I know some students aren't quite "getting it" because we only have 15 minutes left and there's lunch, recess, or whatever the case may be. After reading this chapter I have definitely been more conscious about implementing the components of effective lessons and making a big focus on checks for understanding by using partner discussions, circulating the room, and using white boards for written responses. 

Another key point that resonated with me was making sure we are constantly establishing a purpose for reading (or any activity or lesson we are introducing for that matter). Without a purpose or student engagement, no real learning can take place so we have to become very intentional about how we can motivate, or "hook", our students to become thinkers and actively engage in their learning.

Data Analysis: Chapter 3 Reflection

After reading Chapter 3: The Three Guiding Questions, I was thinking to myself that it wasn't necessarily any new information, but it certainly was a friendly reminder that our teaching can really be simplified into those 3 guiding questions (which also relates closely with our "Focus" book study, but I'll save that for my next post!). I was just filling out a pre-observation form today that answered these 3 questions and it is just a good way to reinforce what is truly important in your lessons and be intentional with our goals, objectives, and assessments.

Something that stood out in this chapter was the importance of PLCs and sharing student work/assessments with our grade level team members, as well as our fellow teachers a grade above and below us. I most definitely agree that the best work we can do for ourselves, our students, and our teaching practice is sharing what we know and learning from other colleagues; however, I feel like inevitably there is just never enough time!! Our Wednesday afternoons become filled up with many things that are definitely important, but I feel like they don't always have direct impact on improving my teaching practices, nor allow time for real collaboration with others. So I do agree that using these 3 guiding questions are the basis of our instruction, but I would like to have some more collaboration time for real, meaningful conversations with my team about our students, our lessons, and our data.

One last thing that I enjoyed reading was the comparison of our teaching teams to the Tour de France team because as it states in the book, "no one wins alone". The more teachers and staff work together and support one another, the greater the outcomes are for every child. 

Book Study Chapter 2...Better late than never!

So I'm getting ready to go over my book notes to do this month's blog posts and realize that I never went back on and posted about chapter 2!

As I was reading back over my notes, I remembered thinking how Schmoker talked about the importance of creating a curriculum high in critical thinking, but yet meaningful to to the students. So many times I think it is easy for us to get caught up in wanting to teach things "we" think will be great, but it's important to remember to keep the students in mind when planning our lessons. When I think about applying this in my room, I think about how important it is that our students are learning/know how to use informational text. We need to have resources available to us that students find meaningful and want to critically evaluate. What are some expository resources you like to use in your classroom that you find students find meaningful to them?

And finally, the other piece that I found interesting was the part about how students are rarely reading or being taught how to read a textbook, which is causing students to lack the deep reading, writing, and inquiry that is required in college. I had never really thought about this, but as I read it I thought, "my students rarely use a textbook!" And then I thought back to my college days and how the textbooks were a major part of my classwork. If we are not teaching students to use them now, then how much harder will it be for them to succeed in using them later? When I think about when I was in elementary school, I remember having a textbook for everything, and I also don't remember not being able to navigate one when I started college. Does it really make a difference? I often wonder why we don't have math text books, and how much easier it would be for parents to help their child with things such as homework if they had the old school textbooks with examples at the beginning of each section. Something to think about I guess!