Mark’s Learning Log

2011 Instructional Rounds Evaluation

As I set up our Network Instructional Rounds dates for 2012 I was interested to read and reflect upon another group of principal evaluations of their experiences last year.

Overwhelmingly the consistent comment of principals as observers in both groups are that they now are interested in asking students about lesson learning intentions, looking at the purposefulness of tasks students are engaged in, trying to understand what differentiated instruction look and feels like, learning as professionals to be more non judgemental and encouraging discussion amongst teachers after feedback.

I sense that amongst the groups there is a shift in thinking about leadership by principals perhaps leaning towards a more instructional approach with leaders spending more time in classrooms and discussing instruction with teachers.

In 2012 in our network we have purchased a book by Carol Tomlinson on differentiated instruction to lead our discussions as we continue to observe instruction and learning in classrooms this year.

Thanks Nina and Jennie for the link to their groups evaluation.

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Everett Kline challenges our assessment beliefs and practices.

The session started by Evertt having us all to describe the best test (in the wider sense of the word) we ever had and then determine what the characteristics of that test were?  It’s an exercise I recommend for all educators.

The common characteristics of the all the best tests we described in that forum were: formative, challenging, performance based, requiring courage and the feedback helped us. Now consider many of the assessments we set as teachers and the mismatches between our beliefs (perhaps described through those “best test” characteristics) and our assessment practices. I know as I see frustrated students and teachers wade through text book tests with few of these “best test” characteristics, (less now I hope).

Everett defines the purpose of all assessments is to cause an increase in achievement. This I see as a challenge. What I so often observe is tests used as summative evaluations with little direct feedback (other than a grade) going to students. How is that causing an increase in achievement – simply put I don’t think it does.

Everett talked about needing to have around 3 of the 5 “assessment” criteria listed below for a task to be useful and impact on student learning.

• · Impact: “looking at the audience –  was the writing informative or persuasive”
• · Craftsmanship: “is the writing – or maths problem  clear (organised, punctuated and spelt correctly)”
• · Behaviours define excellence (preparation): “how well is the paper researched”
• · Sophistication: “creativity in the process”
• · Accuracy: “Is it right”

If I think about what dominates our instruction time (thereby our assessment time if they are consistent) in writing or subjects that require writing our thoughts (e.g. history etc) it’s often craftsmanship first, followed by accuracy and preparation (or the same three in a different order).

One of the expectations we at Elsternwick have set ourselves in 2012 is to have 4 of the 10 writing sessions over a fortnight focused on authorial voice or IMPACT. I’ll let you know if our results improve as Kline suggests they always do when you stress impact.

Everett also disputed the notion of teachers constantly developing rubrics for various assessment pieces saying it was unrealistic and the reliability of teacher judgements using the rubric tool is questionable.

He introduced us to the term “inter rater reliability” and suggested that one group in the States had worked on this and had a framework well worth considering. He advocates that teachers need to collect multiple samples on the various criteria used for the rubric framework to ensure reliability of teacher judgement.  He suggests that using the one rubric framework which has proven to have inter rater reliability is part of the assessment puzzle. Another key component is the idea of an anthology of work for each student that over time allows us to measure increasing sophistication which is(one of the criteria used by the group in the States.

I’m looking to trial some of the criteria from the group in the States in assessing our Inquiry based units of work with our senior Years 5/6 students in 2012.

So as you can see Everett questions some of the practices we currently advocate teachers should do (build rubrics for each assessment task) and the assessment criteria (Impact) and I think priorities in instruction we have. That’s a lot for one session!

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Carol Tomlinson: an encounter to remember!

This year in our Instructional Rounds group within the local network of schools we purchased Carol Tomlinson’s book “Leading and Managing A Differentiated Classroom” to use as a base text for understanding our observation of instruction in classrooms.

Last year I was privileged to attend the ASCD Summer Conference in Boston and spend a day with Carol Tomlinson unpacking some of the issues in differentiated instruction. This post is a summary of some of her thoughts and my reactions.

“stop believing homogeneous groups exist and stop insisting that alike is always fair”

This was the opening line and a call to action however I see and hear lots of teachers saying they differentiate they just use a different definition of the term. What I believe is a general confusion about the term.

What often occurs is that all students “receive” some common instruction at the start of lessons and then they break up into groups to work on their tasks.

I have challenged this notion of common instruction particularly when it focused on a single skill rather than an understanding developed using lots of  skills (often clustered). Making clear the learning intention is the key here and the intention might take several lessons to achieve. Tasks that connect to the intention and allow students to share their understandings enables group reflections.

When asked Carol said

“the essence of differentiation is to plan a task that allows students at different points of need to engage with and be challenged – connecting this to a conceptual framework – looking for similarities and differences – allows expression of thinking in different ways and all the time adjusting instruction so that all students arrive at the destination.”

This definition is a challenge for teachers, particularly those working alone. Knowing all the students needs mean we need to constantly collect data about students as individuals and this is not just done by using tests but observations, records of key conversations and quizzes to know their immediate needs or interests.  I believe teachers working in teams can plan the tasks once they know their cohorts needs and then individual teachers adjust their instruction for the students in their care.

Carol spent a long time talking about the environment actively supporting students and having 4 parts – in summary

• learning environment: growth mindset & community where they feel they belong
• curriculum: engaging, connected to their culture and backgrounds, where teachers teach up and respectful tasks which are equally challenging
• assessment: ongoing and where grading supports students investments in their learning (product + self assess how well you work and your progress) informs student feedback (look for misunderstandings)
• instruction: flexible ( target and interest based groups) using different strategies and working together to know the routines.

When faced with this list I know my task as a leader is to support teachers particularly at the start of each year building the routines and shared values, learning community where people feel they belong, common expectations and relationships between teacher and students and their peers.

I know from last year its important students build expectations of what a good teacher does and unpack the values of differentiation, particularly “fairness”.

I hope my summary here helps others unpack what differentiation means to them.

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University Entrance a maze to be understood.

I recently read a blog post by Jenny Luca which was critical of the way universities select entrants based on a single score. In Victoria the score is called an ATAR score. The post attracted a few comments saying it was a little better in the States where they use other measures as well and another saying entrants once selected were disappointed in the teaching and learning used in universities.

This caused me to reflect on one of my teenage children who has about 12 days to go before he knows what course he has been selected into.

His first choice, a 4 year physiotherapy degree which has limited places, had a far more stringent process requiring  him to pass a medical exam (UMAT in Victoria) and based on that score (60 plus) was then was selected for a 45 minute interview by 5 people. Based on these two measures he is most likely placed on a list to await an ATAR score of mid 90′s. He is close we hope.

We too visited the universities open days and career nights at school talking to universities to get an idea of what might suit him. He has 6 other possibly courses that just use an ATAR score and he hopes to do a Masters in Science at another university as his second preference.

In the end I tend to agree with Jenny that a score is not necessarily the best method to select entrants for universities but in most cases its probably the most efficient given the large number of applicants. I remember seeing a number of texts in Boston bookshops on how to write an award winning essay to get into Harvard so a SAT is not enough in that system.

As a parent who is going to go through the whole thing again this year with my second teenage child I’m positive that the home process of talking about possibilities, visiting universities and attending information nights to support possible career processes is absolutely essential to support our children.

I’d be interested in other opinions.

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Understanding History – an experience around the Freedom Trail

I feel a little self indulgent in showing these photos of the historical freedom trial Penny Vanderkruk and I walked over several mornings whilst studying at Harvard last year. However in walking the trail we feel we got a glimpse into why Americans are generally proud of their historical struggles towards independence and freedom. We also learnt about their fairly historical religious backgrounds.

We in Australia haven’t had those battles towards independence which in part define the American identity although if I can draw some parallel we also established part of our identity through by the character shown on the battlefields of WW1 and WW2.

For those not familiar with the trial we started the freedom trail at Boston Commons which was an open area for people to congregate. Prior to the struggles towards independence the area was noted for public punishments ((hangings, lashes) for crimes according to old Mormon type law. From there we walked to the Granary burial grounds where many of the initial thinkers, writers or people who contributed towards of the act of independence are buried:e.g.  Paul Revere and Sam Adams. We then walked along and visited Churches where public meetings of dissent where held and the town hall where the act was first read on the balcony to the people. We finished the guided tour with Nabby at the Quincey Market.

We continued the trail past Paul Revere’s ride, house and church where the latern shone to warn the people of the advancing British Army. We finished the trial at the Bunker Hill Monument.

I was fortunate enough to visit Beijing later in the year and again learn about some of their history: Ming Dynasty, Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China.

These two experiences have reinforced the need for Australian history to be taught in schools (its in the new National Curriculum). It also for me calls for us to remember our history in similar trials around our cities. I know there are several historical trials around Melbourne but not to my knowledge guided in such a way as to relive the history. Something to ponder – do we have trials around our schools and local communities?

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The Harvard Social Experience.

A few things have cropped up since we returned from the Harvard course in July that I haven’t had a chance to share some thoughts about the trip and so being on summer holidays is the perfect opportunity to do just that. I’m hoping that this might bring back some memories some our new colleagues from the States and other places.

I’ve broken the trip down to several different posts each with a theme this one being learning from the social experience.

The first photo shows Penny, my assistant principal, and I at the Harvard lectern at the completion of the course which is a little misleading as we are still completing the online sessions which continue until late March 2012. Its one of the prerequisites of the course that you attend in a team and having started the work back at school in Melbourne I think its essential. I have been a little caught up in the management side of the organisation (as has Penny to a degree) with employment and budgets but having Penny as an online data-wise coach for a few teachers at the school we are building up the assessment literacy as well as the knowledge of a few core people so that this team can lead the work in 2012.

The next few photos show our morning routine of catching the bus each morning to Harvard from the hotel with the same bus driver and stopping at Starbucks for the usual heart starter – the coffee isn’t bad. I must add that Penny had many different pronunciations of her name on the cup (Panny, Peggy being two). Shows how hard our Australian twine is to understand at times.

Five of the next 6 shots show us in some of the groups we were placed in during the course. Harvard was very particular in the way they grouped people working together. One of the groups I was placed in was with a group of fellow principals ( Lemelle and Yashika were two principals in that group). Each day we were set tasks to resolve and share as part of the data wise process. It was interesting for me to hear their different journeys as educators particularly Yashika who had come from the armed services before being appointed as a principal. The other group was with the 6 internationals in the group as we planned each day to continue the work back in our own schools.

Our international tutorial group had Liz as a leader (pictured with Penny) who provided a special treat by organising dinner at her home for us. It was great to eat in a home rather than a restaurant for one night while we travelled. Liz a published author in her own right was tremendous in supporting and challenging our thinking.

We have taken some of Harvard’s deliberate grouping strategies to our staff meetings and used names placement cards to group teachers. We think this has helped hear a few different voices on the topics we investigate or inquire into.

The last few photos reminded me of the importance of celebrations and social interactions in organisations. Harvard have their traditional Clam Bake on the last night of the course which was a hoot. We wore the bids to cover the squirts of juice as we cracked open the lobsters. Our colleagues from Texas took us to a bar and introduced us to some interesting cocktails and I had long chats to Lenny a principal who talked about the need for safe and secure learning environments (employing an additional 2 security guards rather than teachers).  His school catered for students from troubled backgrounds (lots having witnessed killings).

We had a few celebrations for staff at the end of the school year which was important for 2011 was a tough year (not in Lenny’s league) but they helped heal the wounds and acknowledge the work.

So in summary the social experience of learning in another context or setting was invaluable to us for it both added to the cultural dimensions, challenges and opportunities we took away with us. I’m now trying to get other committed teachers on staff to experience something similar.

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Jiangsu School Leaders Delegation

This week I was invited to meet a delegation of school leaders from the Jiangsu Province of China. After the introductions and overviews of each region or province were finished we had an opportunity to exchange views of education and ask each other questions.

The issues raised included money from governments, reviewing  and supporting teachers improve instruction and building school facilities in the style of their community or beliefs about learning. The school leaders from Jiangsu spoke about how they were impressed during their school visits with the students social skills, their sense of independence and the different styles of teaching that focused on students as individuals.

We have been invited to explore some closer relationships using online technologies with schools between the two regions that may lead to sister school ties in the future.

This is a great opportunity I fully intend to pursue.

PS I unsuccessfully  tried to use Google translater and insert the Mandarin translation under the text. All that came out was questions marks so if some could help that would be appreciated.

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21st Century Learner

I’m constantly searching for better ways to engage in conversations with groups about learning, the work of schools to both reflect and lead communities in change and the leadership required to achieve these things.

I came to this clip in this quest. I was listening to the school that was built to engage digital learners and really liked the statement that they have gone completely wireless so they can use computers where they are really needed and put them away at other times. They showed an image of students painting as an example of this other time. This makes sense and I think supports our investigations into a  1:1 notebook or tablet (ipad) program in 2013.

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Like to start teacher conversation about observing practice – with humour?

Recently we ran a workshop on observing teacher practice in classrooms within a coaching relationship. To break the ice but make the point we used this clip from Summer Heights High which was an Australian TV show that “sent up” schools.

 It successfully broke the ice and teachers talked about instruction and how hard it can be to observe practice when you don’t have a focus.

 Penny, my Assistant Principal, and I are presenting at a Harvard online session this Friday as part of the Data Wise Course and we made reference to this clip so I thought that it might be easier to embed the clip in my bog for our American colleagues.

 If teachers or school leaders have used other clips to view instruction in classrooms we would be interested to hear from you.

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Rick Wormeli on redo’s and retakes

I’ve been pondering some recent parent feedback about our senior students lack of engagement with some teachers and the material they are expected to learn. I began my reflections about the students coming from the digital generation and expecting to be entertained by teachers otherwise they are bored or non engaged.

Parents are saying  if there wasn’t enough time to cover the material at school send it home so long as we know and the homework is marked or graded upon its return (thereby signifying its importance).

After watching Rick I am now wondering if we are if fact letting our kids off by a lack of accountability for their learning. His take on encouraging student to relearn the material (after a poor grade) given certain conditions of course is best summed up on his touch down comment on clip 2.

I’m interested in others opinions as he certainly serves it up to teachers who let students off the hook.

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