Coalition of Essential Schools National Exhibition Month, May 2010 a guide

Coalition of Essential Schools National Exhibition Month, May 2010 a guide

Coalition of essential schools national exhibition month, may 2010. (2010). (PDF), Retrieved from http://www.essentialschools.org/d/6/Coalition_of_Essential_Schools_National_Exhibition_Month.pdf?1272648605

SUMMARY OF THE WORK

This is a downloadable guide for schools interested in participating in National Exhibition Month, as sponsored by the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES). The guide provides a tiered approach to creating a culture of exhibitions—starting with “Phase 1” which is observing other schools' uses of exhibitions, to “Phase 4” where implementation of exhibitions is systematic and integral to all a school does. The guide gives checklists for activities to raise public awareness of exhibitions as a valid assessment strategies to replace, or at least supplement, standardized testing. Advice on preparing for and organizing an exhibition, including suggestions for addressing the needs and queries of the public and the media, are included. There is a section of Student Guidelines to help prepare students to exhibit their work, as well as several pre-made forms for use with the media (such as press releases, letters to the editor, and follow up communication).

EVALUATION OF METHODS AND FINDINGS:

The CES has been a strong advocate of exhibitions and alternative assessment and, since this is a guide to their own sponsored event, the material is reliable and relevant. The sample media forms are a particularly potent tool to spread a uniform message about the power and purpose of exhibitions.

RELEVANCE TO YOUR PRACTICE

As someone considering my first exhibition, this guide was extremely valuable. I appreciated the scaffolded, checklist-oriented approach because it made the overwhelming idea of broadcasting my exhibition to the public less daunting. As eager as I am to try an exhibition and as much as I dream big with my ideas, I also appreciated the reminder to focus on small, reasonable, and successful steps. It will be more powerful to have a simple, successful exhibition than to create the impression that exhibitions are large, overwhelming, poorly organized, mere “activities” for kids to do. Although I am not sure how media-ready I will be this year, the sample forms give me great templates to use in the future. One section that particularly stood out highlighted some of the keys to success in the eyes of outside visitors: people must “get it” quickly; make sure your questions are essential and not yes/no; choose intellectually stimulating (not just “cool”) projects; use a QUALITY rubric (one that is well established, if necessary) so it is easy for outside visitors, and students, to understand what their work is about and how to assess it; seek out appropriate mentors and jurors in advance. I am looking forward to the challenges and rich rewards of participating in the 2011 National Exhibition Month!

Anatomy of an Exhibition, by Jody Brown Podl

Anatomy of an Exhibition, by Jody Brown Podl from the Coalition of Essential Schools' online resources

Podl, J.B. (1992). Anatomy of an exhibition. Coalition of Essential Schools, Retrieved from http://www.essentialschools.org/resources/191


SUMMARY OF THE WORK

This article is a resource provided by the Coalition of Essential Schools' website. Podl chronicles and reflects upon the efforts of veteran teacher, Margaret Metzer, as she conducts her first exhibition with her high school senior English class. Metzer's students read and study Dante's Inferno. Frustrated by consistently poor performance on the traditional, multiple choice final exam (especially in comparison with the knowledge students were exhibiting in class), Metzer decided to try exhibition as a means of assessment. Metzer's exhibition project b after her classes have read half of the Cantos together and she has modeled many comprehension skills. Then, she has student pairs read a Canto on their own, write a paper, and present the paper and a lesson on the main concept of their Canto to their peers and three outside judges. Podl details Metzer's motives for transitioning from a final exam to a final exhibition; explains Metzer's planning and preparation for the exhibition; how she involved and managed her students; the timing and logistics; and the impact of the exhibition on students, teachers, and the school community.

EVALUATION OF METHODS AND FINDINGS:

Podl is detailed and honest in her report on Metzer's work. She uses headings to organize the different phases of the project: Vision, The Plan, Teacher Preparation, Student Preparation, The Exhibitions, The Papers, The Judges, Grading, Student Reflections, Unexpected Problems, Keys to Success, and References. Each section gives a detailed description of the project, including honest thoughts and reactions from Metzer as a teacher trying something new and some quotes from students and other community members. Podl is clearly in favor of exhibitions and underscores the positive effects of the project, but also highlights areas of challenge and aspects Metzer would improve upon next time. The inclusion of resources, including the works of Ted Sizer (who inspired Metzer's interest in exhibitions) are particularly helpful.


RELEVANCE TO YOUR PRACTICE

I appreciated this article's honesty: Metzer's traditional lesson plan for teaching Dante's Inferno was a stark contrast to the level of freedom and flexibility she gave students during their exhibition work and Podl is honest about the concerns this raised for Metzer. As a teacher thinking about my own first attempt at exhibition, I also appreciated the detailed descriptions of how Metzer thought about and organized her assignment. For example, she explicitly shared with students the rationale behind doing an exhibition and was upfront about this being her first exhibition too. The timelines of planning and classwork helped me visualize what it is like to prepare for an exhibition and the commentary on unexpected problems (like the reaction from other staff or the students' struggle to think of good teaching pedagogy for their presentations) will hopefully help me avoid problems and also prepare for those that I can't predict. This article's positive tone makes me feel excited and optimistic for my own exhibition idea and I truly admire Margaret Metzer for branching out after 22 years of teaching and, most critically, for willingly opening her practice to “dissection.”

Fires in the Mind: What Kids Can Tell Us About Motivation and Mastery by Kathleen Cushman and the students of What Kids Can Do

Cushman, K, & students, . (2010). Fires in the mind: what kids can tell us about motivation and mastery. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

SUMMARY:

Kathleen Cushman is well regarded for her work with student voice. This book is the result of a project she undertook with 160 high school students from diverse schools across the country. The question they explored together was: What does it take to get really good at something? Cushman's premise was that if students could identify what strategies made people successful in everyday endeavors, those same strategies could be employed by students and teachers in designing successful classroom experiences. Throughout the book, Cushman uses extensive quotes from the students she worked with to let their words illustrate their thoughts and discoveries about “getting really good” at things. The book mirrors the progression of the project itself: identifying what makes people successful outside of school, examining those strategies more closely, then applying them to the classroom setting. Cushman provides easy to understand summaries of key discoveries she and the students made together as well as examples to illustrate what teachers (and students) can do to make their classrooms more successful. The book touches on issues of motivation, the purpose and forms of practice (including homework), and means of assessing student progress. Throughout, Cushman and her students refine the role of practice: What makes it meaningful? What makes students motivated to practice well? What kinds of practice can students choose or be asked to undertake? How can teachers create opportunities for practice that deliver the best learning and success for their students? Fires in the Mind is accessible to read and includes templates for teachers to use in their own exploration of what it takes to get really good at something. The heavy inclusion of student quotes and examples validates Cushman's message about the importance and power of student voice and ensures that the ideas are authentic to real students, rather than just research notes or theory from an adult educator.

RELEVANT QUOTES:

“Public honor for hard work … provides a powerful form of encouragement—and it need not come as the climax of their labors. At every point along their paths, the praise of others for hard-earned progress made these adolescent learners feel not just pride but the desire to go even further” (44).

in regards to learning “standardized” material:

“How could a teacher draw students into the topic at the start, sparking their willingness to engage with it? What kind of practice should kids carry out so they would recall important material long after passing the test? What more engaging form of assessment could also ensure they had really mastered the facts and could put them to use?” (111).

“Practicing Towards Mastery” worksheet that asks students and teachers to consider the following prompts in planning a lesson/unit:

• “You want us to know...
• You draw us in by...
• You help us set reachable goals by...
• You ask us to practice the knowledge and skills by...
• You check our mastery of important knowledge and skills by...
• You chart our small successes by...” (114).

“Our Goals for Practice in Class” worksheet that lists sub-questions for each of these main points for a teacher to consider when planning a learning activity:

• “Do we see the meaning and value in the material you introduce?
• Do we know what excellent work with this material looks like?
• Do we know what to practice so we can put our learning to use?
• Do you know what we understand and don't understand?
• Do you coach us in what we don't yet understand?
• Do you ask us to assess our progress and that of our peers?” (115-116)

“...applause for a public presentation was not enough. It seemed mere blanket praise, without distinction among the different elements of a project. After all they had put into their projects, they hoped for a mix of coaching and critique, appreciation and evaluation” (143).

From a student named Tyler: “Like, how can we take what we're learning about class in DNA and apply it? If you're doing something that's tied into the real world, you learn a lot from the experience. It's going to involve a lot more than science, or a lot more than just math. It's not an assignment—it's like you have ownership over the project” (137).

TEXTS CITED

Tomlinson, C. A. (2004). How to differentiate instruction in mixed ability classrooms.. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Wiggins, G.P, & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

The psychology of motivation and its relevance to educational practice.

Elliott, J., Hufton, N., Anderman, E., & Illushin, L. (2000). The psychology of
motivation and its relevance to educational practice. Educational and Child
Psychology, 17(3), 122-133.


Summary:
This article begins by discussing differences in student achievement in the United States and Asian/East European countries. The authors state that these differences are attributable to either better teaching or differences in student motivation. They cite research that found lower levels of student motivation in the United States and United Kingdom.

The authors then present a very brief overview of the history of motivation research within the framework of psychology and specifically educational psychology. They trace this research as far back as Freud and as recently as to 1999.

The authors identify a number of theoretical perspectives regarding motivation and comment on the fact that there is yet to be a unified model of motivation. They explore intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation and focus on the overjustification hypothesis, which posits the idea that constant external rewards (behavioral reinforcements) can undermine the value of learning as an end in itself. They refer to a fascinating meta-analysis of studies on rewards and identify that unexpected tangible rewards do in fact raise levels of intrinsic motivation, albeit temporarily. They go on to note that verbal rewards do not increase intrinsic motivation. The authors caution that an overreliance on material rewards could be harmful to students.

They also explore attribution theory, which explores how students make sense of the educational outcomes they experience. One of the more important points of attribution theory is that when students attribute their performance to external factors, their motivation to persist in the face of failure is reduced. The opposite is true as well, where students who attribute their success to internal factors are far more likely to persist in the face of difficulty. The authors review some of these conclusions from the foundational work of Bernard Weiner, and these are reminiscent of the work of Carol Dweck and Geoff Cohen on motivation and mindset.

The authors also discuss the theory of self-efficacy, which deals with the idea that people who have a great degree of self-efficacy believe they can accomplish difficult tasks. While this may seem obvious, the authors discuss the fact that high levels of self-efficacy do not always translate into high levels of achievement. They examine a Russian study with paradoxical results, where children demonstrated lower levels of self-confidence but achieved quite highly. The authors make an intriguing point that children’s academic self-perceptions were tied to how they believed their teachers viewed them.

The next model the authors discuss is ‘expectancy X value,’ where expectancy is similar to self-efficacy, and the “value” component breaks down into four factors: attainment value, intrinsic value, utility value, and cost. Eccles’ research on expectancy X value found marked declines in both factors (expectancy and value) in the middle school years, which makes a focus on increasing them quite important.

Next, the authors explore goal orientation theory, which breaks down motivation into mastery goals and performance goals. The authors discuss performance goals in more detail, analzying two different types of performance goals.

Lastly, the authors explore the effect of pedagogy on motivation. The compare Russia to the United States in depth. One of the more interesting points compares the focus on student autonomy in American classrooms with a more authoritarian approach in Russia. The authors explore Russian pedagogical methods in more depth, and it is interesting to note that the Russian methods can be characterized as teacher-centered, high-pressure enviroments that are at the same time goal-oriented and collaborative, at least among students. The Russian curricula place great emphasis on textbooks, homework, and day-to-day grading of participation, which the authors acknowledge is somewhat ambiguous and up to the judgment of the teacher.

One of the more fascinating conclusions the authors make is that Western research on motivation may not be at all applicable to the Russian educational system, in part because Western research tends to focus on the extremes-- what reduces student motivation to harmful degrees or what is highly motivating, whereas the Russian model aims for a more moderate level of motivation and resultant success. It is intriguing to consider the value of both systems, and there may be interesting cultural conclusions to draw from this point made by the author. It is certainly clear that there are different value systems at work in the respective educational systems.

The authors reference scholarship that suggests that the characteristics that encourage motivation might be culturally embedded and therefore not applicable across wide-ranging countries and cultural groups, but also imply that there is not enough extant research to make a rigorous conclusion on these grounds.

Discussion of Value:

This was a dense, fascinating, and ultimately very thought-provoking article, and it is one I would highly recommend to colleagues and members of my cohort. The authors clearly did extensive, careful research, and were judicious in the conclusions they made. They raise many questions work considering and offer numerous avenues to consider for further study, consideration, and research.

For educators interested in student motivation, cultural differences in education, and a summary of Western research on motivation, this article is excellent.


Quotations:
“In schools, extrinsic reinforcement often takes the form of public recognition and approval. However, if a teacher constantly gives out gold stars for doing mathematics problems correctly, and then stops giving out gold stars, one may question whether the students will continue to do the mathematics problems? Must the teacher continue to provide extrinsic reinforcers throughout a child’s school career?”

“Deci et al. (1999) carried out a detailed meta-analytic review of 128 studies that examined the effects of extrinsic rewards (tangible and verbal) on intrinsic motivation. They found that whereas tangible rewards offered for engaging in, completing or succeeding on a task were generally deleterious to intrinsic motivation, this was not the case where the reward was unexpected.”

“Unfortunately, the use of verbal rewards failed to enhance children’s intrinsic motivation.”

“The pressure upon schools in the UK and US to raise standards has resulted in material incentives being increasingly being offered to students as rewards for high achievement. While these may prove efficacious in the short-term, the long-term implications of such schemes upon students’ attitudes to learning could be ‘disastrous.’”

“It is important to differentiate between those internal factors over which the indi- vidual has high degree of control (effort) and those which are relatively fixed (natural ability). If a child considers an experience of failure to be the result of a lack of ability, one would anticipate less goal-seeking behaviour than if it were perceived to be because they hadn’t worked hard enough.”

“An individual who has high self-efficacy perceives that she or he has the competence to engage in a particular task.”

“The relationship between self-perceptions and motivation may be more complex than is often credited. Whereas it is clear that poor self-efficacy, low levels of perceived competence and self-esteem are demotivating and result in withdrawal, it may be unwise to extrapolate from this to claim that high levels of self-confidence result in superior performance. In their comparative studies, for example, Elliott, Hufton and colleagues have noted the somewhat paradoxical finding that while evidencing high academic standards, Russian children tended to demonstrate markedly lower self-perceptions of their ability than the English and American children. This was not an isolated finding; English and American children’s over- optimistic self-perceptions are a feature of several other large-scale studies.”

“One might anticipate that lower levels of self- confidence and the more critical stance of teachers would reduce the children’s predilection for learning. However, it did not appear that Russian children’s orientation to school or motivation to work hard was in any way reduced as a result.”

“Attainment value (how important is the task?), intrinsic value (how interesting is the task?), utility value (how useful is the task?), and cost (what is the personal cost involved with engaging in the task)?”

“In addition, numerous studies have documented a marked decline in expectancies and values during middle childhood and early adoles- cence (e.g., Eccles, Wigfield, Midgley, Reuman, Mac Iver & Feldlaufer, 1993; Eccles, Wigfield, Harold & Blumenfeld, 1993). In particular, in American schools, as early adoles- cents make the transition from elementary (primary) school to junior high (middle) school, the valuing of academic subjects, and expectancies for success, tend to decline, often quite dramatically (Wigfield, Eccles, Mac Iver, Reuman, & Midgley, 1991).”

“This would involve the reduction of those classroom activities that have low authenticity, offer few choices to students, and which require low-level skills.”

“Passe (1996), for example, argues that a sense of competence will only promote motivation if it is self-determined: ‘When students have little say in the decision- making process, even a successful activity will not promote a sense of competence.’”

“Lessons also exhibit a deeper three-part structure: (i) a focus on oral rehearsal of previous learning, particularly, but not solely from the immediately foregoing homework; (ii) exploration of new material; (iii) the rehearsal of new material and guidance as to how to study it further at home. Learning in lessons is collaborative and collective. High, teacher-directed, pupil participation is expected. Pupils are called on at random to state, or explain what they know or how to do something. They may be called, or themselves ask, to go to the blackboard to work a problem or complete an exercise for the rest of the class. They have been trained since the beginning of schooling to compose sentences orally and express them- selves cogently and judiciously. To a marked extent, the class works together with the teacher to explore and understand the subject matter under consideration.”

“A further complicating factor could be that Western theorists have tended to study what demotivates and what highly motivates, whereas what may most normally be at issue, in providing mass general education, is what sufficiently motivates learners to benefit sufficiently from such provision.”

The Pleasures of Teaching History

Chris Webber:

Axtell, J. (2001, August 14). The Pleasures of Teaching History. History Teacher, 34(4), 443-446.
This is a great article and very relevant to me, being a history teacher. The author explains how alarmed he is that most young American students are so ignorant of most things historical, and are also very naïve when it comes to all things historical. He mentions that history teachers have “professionally challenging and socially important jobs…” , which just happen to be very enjoyable. The article suggests that as a history teacher it is important at the beginning of the instructional year to attempt to combat pseudo-familiar historical stereotypes. According to Mr. Axtell students have these stereotypes because of their propensity to associate self-knowledge with historical knowledge. This self knowledge, according to the author, is usually learned through identification with superficial actors that become familiar to the students over a long periods of time. The fun part of the job as a history teacher begins when the teacher starts to remove these ingrained stereotypes and starts to replace that with actual historical facts as they pertain to the world in which the students live.

The author mentions at length, and very honestly, that other pleasures of teaching history include the idea that we can talk about our favorite countries, characters, tribes etc. with students, that we get to use professional deductions to travel to exotic locations, and that we get to use deductions to buy books that we would usually buy anyway. I totally agree with these “perks” of being a history teacher and found this article to be very validating of my choice of profession.

SELF-EVALUATION ACCURACY AMONG HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL INSTRUMENTALISTS

Hewitt, M. P. "Self-Evaluation Accuracy among High School and Middle School Instrumentalists." Journal of Research in Music Education 53.2 (2005): 148-161.

This article discusses several studies that attempt to explain similarities and differences in Self-Evaluation Accuracy between Middle School and High School instrumentalist. Hewitt describes the need for further education of adult musicians after secondary schools and makes a connection to teaching students to accurately self-evaluate their performances. The study included statistical data, charts and graphs all representing students accuracy of self-evaluation over time. The purpose and reasoning behind this study is clear that the earlier students start self-evaluating themselves, the more accurate they become.

I had a few problems with the study as there was not much information about how and where the students used in the study came from. What was the background of the students? What school district were they from? How many years of experience do they have? Did they take private lessons or were they only in public school courses? These questions are important in understanding the make up of the student samples that were collected for the study. I feel that students with a vast array of knowledge and experience could definitely "skew" the study either in either direction.

The Questions that that the article attempts to answer directly are:

1. Do grade-level (middle/high school) differences exist on self- evaluation tendencies over time?

2. Do grade-level differences and evaluator (student/expert) differences exist, alone and in combination, on music performance evaluation?

3. What relationships exist between student self-evaluation and expert evaluations of music performance by grade level?

4. Do differences exist between grade level and music perfomance subarea (tone, intonation, melody, etc.) on self-evaluation accuracy?

All of these questions address important aspects of developing musicianship and lead me to further ponder whether Hewitt's intentions were merely to add emphasis on an aspect of musicianship that has gone "unnamed" for years in our industry. I think of a scene from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" in which he is sqweaking and squaking on a clarinet, and when he's finished he smiles at the camera and says with a grin. "...and not one lesson!" sarcastically implying that he was an expert clarinetist. How do students, and musicians learn to understand what sounds unacceptable, acceptable, exceptional and every level in between. Defining proper characteristic tone qualities is definitely a learned and subjective skill that is developed over time with support, coaching and modeling from a variety of resources. I think this skill is something that students silently acquire and that we haven't really addressed as an important area of study for musicians however Hewitt defines it well and sheds light on the importance of its development in musicians.

If music educators truly wish for adults to become independent practitioners of music throughout their lives, then methods that help students develop self-regulation abilities (including self-evaluation) need to be incorporated into the curriculum of school music programs. (161)

Elliott (1995) proposes that the profession should focus on teaching students how to continue developing their musicianship once their schooling ends. (149)

Others suggest that the schools should enable students to "function effectively as adults and to contribute to society in today's world and tomorrow's and that music educators must join with others in providing opportunities for meaningful music instruction for all people beginning at the earliest possible age and continuing throughout life. (149)

Most findings suggest that music students are inconsistent in evaluations of their own performances (Bergee, 1993,

1997; Hewitt, 2002; Kostka, 1997) (152)

Furthermore, middle school students, when asked to evaluate their own pitch and rhythmic performance, were better able to identify pitch errors during live performance than during recorded performance, but identified rhythm errors similarly in both live and recorded mediums (153)

This study was an examination of (a) whether grade-level differences exist on self-evaluation tendencies over time, (b) if grade-level differences and evaluator differences exist, alone and in combination, on music performance evaluation, (c) if relationships exist between student self-evaluation and expert evaluations of music performance

by grade level, and (d) whether differences exist between grade level and music performance subarea (tone, intonation, melody, etc.) on self-evaluation accuracy.(153)

Perceptions of abilities during opening performances could be different than future performances for these sub-areas. Perhaps middle school students felt it was acceptable for them to be average during their initial performance, but it is interesting that high school students did not seem to feel this way.(154)

These results may offer insight into the areas where students focus their self-evaluative attention during performance and might provide instrumental music teachers with a better sense of how to help students focus on various aspects of their own performance. (155)

The Book of Numbers (mathematics)

Bentley, J Peter,(2008) The Book of Numbers: The Secret of Numbers and how they changed the World. Buffalo NY, Firefly Books.

This is a beautifully put together book that should be brought into every math classroom. It is the history of numbers through a historical narrative. This book paints the picture of mathematicians, astronomers, and physicists as explorers "they didn't weave the tapestry they examined. They did not invent their numbers or mathematical ideas as novelist invent a story. They searched for truth, and tried to explain it inventing new languages of numbers simply to be able to write down their discoveries."

This book creatively sews the pieces together from negative numbers, zero, decimal, one, irrational numbers, Phi, 2, e, 3, Pi, 10, 13, c, infinity and i. It carries the story of mathematics invented, what's at the foundation, and easily explains complex ideas like topography, fractals, relativity, probability, etc.

There is no argument in this book that numbers are anything other than what they are. But Bentley does an amazing job showing the reader what numbers actually are. I would recommend this book to any math, science, humanities class from 8th grade on up. This book could bring to students that necessary curiosity that enables them to enjoy mathematics.

This book will increase your ability to marvel at the world. In the words of Albert Einstein "There are two ways to live your life. One as though nothing is a miracle. The other though everything is a miracle."

Differentiated Instruction: Adjusting to the needs of all learners

Corley, Mary Ann. (2005), Differentiated Instruction. Adjusting to the Needs of All Learners. NCSALL Volume 7, Issue C. http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=736

In this article, Mary Ann Corley attempts to define differentiated instruction by drawing on the words of some of the leaders in the field such as Carol Ann Tomlinson. She provides a very succinct introduction to differentiation, explaining the three key characteristics of readiness level, interest and learning profile, giving the reader a nice overview of what makes good differentiation. She also goes over Content, Process and Product, three components of differentiated instruction that are mentioned quite often. Content refers to what the students need to know, process refers to how it is taught, and product refers to the many different ways students can express their knowledge. She's basically providing a nice quick "how to" in regards to differentiation that teachers can read easily to determine whether this is the right thing for them.

The most valuable part of the article though is simply a list. It includes a dozen different techniques teachers can use to incorporate differentiation in their classes. It's not a bad thing to laminate and put up on the wall in your office. Tips like setting up stations, assigning tiered activities, using choice boards and allowing for flexible pacing all represent great strategies that any teacher can employ.

Corley wraps up the article by providing the reader with the challenges involved in using differentiation, citing three major issues. It takes a lot of planning to incorporate DI, which takes a lot more time. Classroom management also changes dramatically as the teacher takes on a new role. Plus, it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks, meaning teachers have a difficult time moving away from where they're already comfortable.

Some striking quotes:

"Instead of expecting learners to adjust to the lessons they plan, teachers need to plan their lessons to adjust to the learners at hand"

"(need to) change the role of the teacher from dispenser of knowledge to facilitator of learning"

"The only way to address all these concerns is through effective professional development that strongly encourages teachers to apply the skills and then provides coaching throughout the process of moving toward differentiation as a teaching approach."

Sources

Campbell, L., & Campbell, B. (1999). Multiple Intelligences and Student Achievement: Success Stories from Six Schools. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Tomlinson, C. (1995). “Deciding to differentiate instruction in middle school: One school’s journey.” Gifted ChildQuarterly, 3 9, 77-87.

Helping Teachers Learn: Principal Leadership for Adult Growth and Development

Helping teachers learn: principal leadership for adult growth and development. (2004) Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.

Drago-Severson, the author of this book, highlights twenty-five principals as they navigate the ups and downs of supporting adult learners, along with the creative strategies they practice, and the practices they employ to promote adult development. Her study answers the question: What would school leadership practices look like if they were designed to support adult development? The schools in her study come from a wide variety of contexts with different levels of financial and human resources, different grades and different types of students. She also looks at the actual practices the school leaders use to support teacher learning and what makes them effective. To accomplish her research, she conducted 75 hours of interviews and analyzed approximately 60 documents. Drago-Severson was looking mostly for school leaders that create environments that can be labeled as "transformational learning" environments. She distinguishes between "transformational learning-- learning that helps adults to develop capacities to better manage the complexities of work and life-- and informational learning-- increases in knowledge and skills that are also important and can support changes in adults' attitudes and possible their competencies." She believes that transformational learning creates learning environments for the adults that results in greater teacher retention, improved teaching and even greater student achievement.

One chapter I found helpful in my research about School Leadership and Professional Development was the chapter on "Principals as Climate Shapers." The author provides strategies for school leaders to build a positive school climate, for promoting the school mission, for rewarding teachers in new ways and for honoring teachers' strengths and contributions. Reading the stories of success from a variety of schools in creating positive learning communities for the teachers is inspiring. The book also delineates other categories of strong leadership from the principals in the study including: encouraging teamwork, providing leadership rules, collegial inquiry, and mentoring. Each of these chapters provides insight, ideas and strategies that could be useful for a school leader in developing an adult learning community at their school.

Quotes:

"Researchers maintain that effective professional development for teachers must be (a) embedded in and derived from practice, (b) continuous and ongoing rather than one-shot experiences, (c) on-site and school based, (d) focused on promoting student achievement, (e) integrated with school reform processes, (f) centered around teacher collaboration, and (g) sensitive to teachers' learning needs. p. xxii

"I think the person who benefits the most [from supporting teacher learning] is the student. If teachers are happy and enthusiastic about what they do and are willing to try new things and are open to criticism, honest criticism, so they can grow, that's what they will model for the children, and that's what learning should be about.-- Sr. Joan Magnetti" p. 37

"More than half of the principals serving in different school contexts reported that leadership roles provide transformational opportunities to teachers and themselves. In their view, people develop from the experience of being responsible for an idea's creation, development or implementation. Most of the principals believe that leadership roles also foster relationship building, help adults to acclimate to change, and ultimately enhance school climate." p. 89

Discussion-Based Approaches to Developing Understanding: Classroom Instruction and Student Performance in Middle and High School English

Summary:

Applebee, Langer, Nystrand, and Gamoran came together to study the relationship and effects of using discussion based strategies in 64 middle and high school English classes. Basing their study in the scociocognitive view of language and literacy learning, and the foundation that many previous studies have found that high-quality discussions can greatly impact the understanding of students as readers and writers, Applebee, et al, “sought to provide evidence that an emphasis on discussion-based approaches, coupled with high academic demand, is positively related to literacy performance across a diverse set of classrooms at the middle and high school levels. (719)

Although they did not look to focus on any one specific discussion strategy, they did focus on the presence and extent of discussion activities in the classrooms. They found that the use of “authentic questions” used to explore ideas rather than test what students knew, time for open discussion between the whole class or between at least 3 participants, and building upon student’s previous comments to create continuity in the discussion all had positive effects on performance over the year (690).

Applebee, et al looked for evidence of “dialogical instruction” in terms of open discussion, authentic teacher questions, and questions with uptake. They define open discussion as a “free exchange of information among students and/or between at least 3 participants that lasts longer than 30 seconds.” They noted that the teacher may be one of the 3 participants, but that the teacher usually either stays silent or serves mainly to “keep the ball rolling.” They also note that “discussion tends to be marked by the absence of questions, from both the teacher and students, except for purposes of clarification. (700).

They looked for evidence of classrooms that supported “the development of students’ evolving envisionments” in the following activities:

1. Students were allowed room to develop their own understandings in reading and writing activities;
2. Students spent class time in purposeful conversation with peers and teachers;
3. Students were encouraged verbally or through modeling to take a position, express opinions, or explore personal reactions;
4. Students asked questions that showed comprehension;
5. Students asked questions that showed evaluation or analysis;
6. Students were allowed to shift discussions in a new direction;
7. The teacher encouraged students to use others' questions and comments to build discussion;
8. Students actually did so;
9. Students responded to other students or to the teacher with challenges, comments, opinions;
10. Students challenged the text (e.g., by bringing in alternative points of view); and
11. The teachers' questions required analysis (701).

They also looked for evidence of high academic demands by reporting on the overall amount of work expected from the students, the level of emphasis on revisions to their writing- both in content and mechanics, the hours of English homework per week, and the amount of reading and writing assignments required (703).

The overall results of this study found that:
a. “High academic demands and discussion-based approaches were significantly related to spring performance.”
b. “These approaches were effective across a range of situations.” (middle/high school, urban/suburban, academic ability, race/ethnicity)
c. “The impact of high academic demands, in particular, was greatly reduced when track level was included in the models. … lower-track students have less engagement in all aspects of effective English instruction: dialogical instruction, envisionment-building activities, extended curricular conversations, and high academic demands. … The observed maximum for average minutes of open discussion per hour in low track classes was 3.7, as opposed to 14.5 minutes in high-track classes. In these circumstances, it becomes much harder to determine how well discussion-based approaches work for lower-track students; to some extent, they have not been tried” (719).
d. “The approaches that contributed most to student performance … were those that used discussion to develop comprehensive understanding, encouraging exploration and multiple perspectives rather than focusing on correct interpretations and predetermined conclusions.”
e. “High academic demands and discussion-based approaches were significantly related to literacy performance” (722).
f. “…when students’ classroom experiences emphasize high academic demands and discussion-based approaches to the development of understanding, students internalize the knowledge and skills necessary to engage in challenging literacy tasks on their own” (723).


Analysis:
Applebee, et al’s study serves as a prime example of research that has already been conducted that supports my thinking in the benefits of discussion-based teaching strategies. Their subjects ranged from middle to high school, urban to suburban, high to low level learners, which confirms my own beliefs that best practices can and will benefit all students. They draw upon their own previous research, as well as many other researchers, to support the basis for their study, and their findings complement the findings in these other studies as well. There is a wide body of research that supports the need for more professional development in the area of discussion-based approaches to learning. This study encourages me as I continue with my own action research in this very area.

The Power of Protocols: An Educator's Guide to Better Practice

The power of protocols: an educator's guide to better practice. (2007). New York City, New York: Teachers College Press.

The first edition of The Power of Protocols, published in 1991 introduced the Tuning Protocol to teachers which was unique in that it outlined a deliberate way to "constrain participation in order to heighten it." The second edition which I read, builds on the first edition and highlights what the authors believe: that the use of protocols prize "diversity, universal participation, and wide cultivation of what we call facilitative leadership" and help to foster a democratic working environment at a school. The first chapter in the book gives educators a solid rationale for the use of protocols and how protocols help support a new kind of educational setting that is truly democratic. Protocols allow for new insight and energy for the important work that educators have to do every day and the protocols allow teachers to give and receive honest feedback and take on new perspectives. The book also explores what it means to create facilitative leadership, which is explained as the "lubricant of democracy" and can inform how meetings are run in a democratic way that promotes consensus building. The book provides practical examples of protocols to use for problem solving in schools, exploring student work and drawing advice from experts and a variety of text.

This book was really helpful for me in thinking about how to best promote adult learning and adult understanding within a democratic school environment. The first few chapters are especially helpful in terms of getting adults "on board" with using protocols and helping them feel bought into the power of protocols. Many of the protocols outlined in the book are ones we use at High Tech Middle Media Arts on a regular basis and I have seen how a protocol can shape the conversation, provide multiple perspectives and create an atmosphere where all adult opinions are valued and appreciated. The protocols from the book we have used and found very helpful include: The Final Word, the Descriptive Consultancy, and the Tuning Protocol. There are so many other protocols in the book that I would like to try and for each one, the authors provide a description, the purpose, details, the steps of the actual protocol and tips for facilitation. The chapter on improving oneself, when in the facilitation role, would be really helpful for a staff that is used to protocols but wanting to take their conversations to the next level. Finally, the book ends with "Ways to Get Started" and "Things that Make it Easier" which can be really useful for any school leaders or teachers hoping to use protocols in their work.

Quotes:

"We think that product worth producing begins with thoughtful process.  Teaching is first of all a process.  Leadership is, too... There is no way to solve a complex problem without listening to the perspectives on the problem of all those immersed in it." p. x

"Meanwhile, as the use of protocols continues to spread from conferences and workshops to everyday settings where colleagues meet to plan and work together and teachers and students meet to learn together, it becomes possible for all of us to imagine a new kind of educational setting-- not cellular but collaborative, not isolated but networked, not opaque but transparent and accountable." p. xiii

"The first basic idea is that we professional educators should take charge of our own learning... To say that we ought to educate ourselves, therefore, means that professional development activities for educators that are designed and conducted without benefit or inside perspectives are not worth the time and money they cost." p. 1

"In formal settings, just talking can be counterproductive... meetings called to address serious problems frequently fail because of underregulated talking. Often those leading the meetings talk too much, and often they let others talk too much. Together the talkers choke off real listening, and the kind of distributed and beyond-your-comfort zone learning that solving serious problems usually requires." p. 5

"In forcing transparency, protocols again teach us habits that we wish we already had: to take the time to think about what we want to say, to work without rushing, to speak less (or speak up more)." p. 7

"Facilitating protocols involves macro planning-- as in what protocol to use when, and how to open and close the meeting-- and also in micro planning done in the moment-- as in how to intervene when something goes wrong and when to change one's plans." p. 18

Theory and resistence in Education, ch 6

Giroux, Henry.(2001) Theory and Resistance in Education. Greenwood Publishing

Chapter 6: Literacy, Ideology, and the Politics of Schooling
In this chapter, Giroux talks about the perceptions and definitions of literacy. One definition fo literacy sees it as something that is functional or beneficial for economic mobility, and is divorced from context. New literacy continues with this idea of literacy being functional by adding media and tech literacy to its definition. Giroux wants to critique these definitions by including the study of literacy as a political structure where “ideologies are constituted and inscribed in the discourse and social practices of classroom life.” He looks at three ideologies and their influence on literacy: Instrumental, interactionist, and reproductive. Instrumental is the ideology that sees knowledge as the “celebration of fact”—objective accumulations of data, empiricism, formulaic, and value-free with little value placed on ethics or history. Interaction ideology sees learning as an “interaction between the person and his objective world.” If focuses on how meaning is constructed, is more psychological and focused on the person and is concerned about personal growth, happiness, etc. It contains two sub-groups: cognitive-developmental and romantic. Reproductive takes on the question of “how a social system reproduces itself” and looks at the social, economic, and political aspects of schooling and how schooling is largely seen as an “ideological state apparatus” that ensures the continued existence of the status quo. One aspect of this ideology is examining the “hidden curriculum” that is inherent in classroom practices and feed into existing social structures, as well as critically analyzing the interplay of power and control. Examining “power, culture, resistance, and social change” are important aspects of this ideology. Finally, he introduces the idea of critical literacy which can produce “oppositional forms of knowledge and practice” referencing the thinking and writing of Paulo Freire in his explanation when he explains that literacy “is a quality of human consciousness as well as the matery of certain skills” and that our role as educators is to enter into dialogue about the “concrete situations and lived experiences that inform their daily lives.” In other words, the purpose of literacy should be to teach skills, yes, but to put those skills to use in helping to make sense of and change the world.
This was a very dense chapter and I admit I struggled through a lot of it as I don’t have much background in literacy studies, but once I was able to make sense of it, the idea of critical literacy really resonated with me and re-enforced my approach to teaching writing. I’ve always seen writing as a tool of empowerment and I’m very passionate and excited about this part of my “mission” as an educator. It ties in well with another article that I read that I didn’t post here because it was more of a handbook on implementing critical research projects in schools, which I love and hope to introduce in my classroom.

Teacher Leadership Capacity-Building: Developing Democratically Accountable Leaders in Schools

Mullen, Carol A. and Jones, Rahim J. (2008) 'Teacher leadership capacity-building: developing democratically accountable leaders in schools', Teacher Development, 12:4, 329-340

This case study used qualitative data to explore practices of school leaders and the implications of their choices to social justice and teacher empowerment.  This study assumes the goal is to create democratic schools were all teachers grow as leaders and where the school leaders facilitate opportunities for teacher leadership and establish a culture of trust, honesty and professionalism.  The case study included three high performing elementary schools in Florida.  This study also assumes a new understanding of school leadership as one where school leaders and teachers work together to shape policy, create curriculum, enhance instruction and improve education for all children.  Researchers looked specifically at how school leaders intentionally build capacity in their schools, the processes and structures they use to facilitate leadership and the roles and selection they employ among the teaching staff.  Their research shows the importance of teacher involvement with the decision making and policy making of the school.  Emerging from the study of all three schools was a list of multiple avenues for teachers to become more involved in the leadership of the school and in creating a system of social justice. 

What may be most helpful in this article for potential or current school leaders to consider are the multiple reflections and comments from teachers and school leaders about how a principal can encourage teacher leadership.  There are examples of how school leaders can express the value of teacher appreciation, examples of how teachers can feel empowered and examples of how to develop professional learning communities.  Ultimately, three findings in their conclusion can inform how successful a leader will be in developing a democratic community.  These are:  the style of the principal, school based leadership opportunities and professional learning communities.  All of these elements are important to think about when leading a school. 

• Exemplary principals go beyond involving teachers in decision-making processes; they co-create the conditions for a supportive environment that encourages teachers to examine their teaching and school practices, and experiment with ideas that result from reflective practice.  (p. 330)
• The vision of a new profession of well-educated teachers prepared to provide leadership toward restructuring American schools manifests in such teacher leadership roles as curriculum developer, research coordinator, mentor, lead teacher, and school improvement team member... the most prevalent recommendation for improving America's schools was that teachers should take on more of the leadership of their schools.  
• If schools are going to improve, principals must focus their efforts not only on student achievement, learning, and accountability, but also on facilitating the development of teachers as social justice workers committed to citizenship, ethics, and diversity.  
• The teachers in this study have shared that they want to work with principals who are willing to listen, support their decision making within reason, and trust what they say and do.  Teachers are willing to take on more leadership responsibilities where they respect and admire their principals and feel supported by them.  

Creating Teachers' Perceptual, Behavioral, and Attitudinal Change Using Professional Development Workshops

Shriner, Michael, Schlee, Bethanne, Hamil, Melissa and Libler, Rebecca (2009) 'Creating teachers' perceptual, behavioral, and attitudinal change using professional development workshops', Teacher Development, 13: 2, 125- 134. 

As providing high quality teacher professional development comes to the forefront of our current political state, many studies have focused on how the professional development that is being offered can impact systemic change and student achievement results.  This study, however, was conducted to determine how the participants in four different professional development workshops change their knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and behaviors as a result of being involved.  The four different options for professional development were: Technology for PE Teachers, 1000 Ways to Open Lockers/ Keys to Creative Problem Solving, Using Environmental Media to Stimulate Interest in Reading and Math Concepts.  They were offered over the summer of 2007 for K-12 teachers who were given a stipend and able to select which workshops to attend.  They used pretests and post-tests to gather data around how teachers expanded their knowledge and skills as a result of the professional development.  Based on the results, researchers gleaned three dimensions to help plan professional development that will ultimately translate into increased effectiveness in the classrooms for the teachers in attendance.  These dimensions are: a focus on academic content (subject matter and student learning goals); opportunities for hands-on experience and active learning; and information that fosters a sense of coherence (with school goals, individual goals, state mandates, etc.).

While I found some aspects of this research helpful, including the quotes below, for the most part, I did not learn new information about which types of professional development will most positively impact teachers' development.  Since the researchers all used the workshop model and each workshop was on a different topic with different teachers involved, there was not much comparison.  The teachers who attended reported satisfaction and the desire to change their practice as a result of the workshop.  However, the teachers involved in the study, which was both optional and offered over the summer, were likely teachers who enjoy learning and enjoy implementing new strategies learned during professional development.

Important Quotes 

• Workshops were especially designed to have three key elements including 'clearly stated goals communicated to the participants,' 'a leader or facilitator guiding the participants' learning,' and 'group structure that necessitated a collegial learning environment'.  In particular these workshops were designed 'to be offered for shorter periods of time and address more discrete learning goals, such as learning to use a particular set of lessons or try a new assessment strategy'.   
• Not only did the participants of this study believe they had learned concrete information and skills, they also believed they were capable of translating these newly acquired skills into actual classroom application.

Choice without Equity: Charter School Segregation (Executive Summary)

Frankenberg, E., Siegel-Hawley, G., Wang, J. (2010). Choice without Equity: Charter School Segregation and the Need for Civil Rights Standards. Los Angeles, CA: The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA; www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu.

During a time when there is great financial incentive and national political pressure to expand charter schools, these schools continue to be some of the worst perpetrators of school segregation by race and class.  The authors present data from 40 states, the District of Columbia and many large urban areas with considerable percentages of charter schools demonstrating that charter schools are clearly more segregated than traditional pubic schools.

The authors identify four major themes that emerge from the study:

First, charter schools, though increasing in number, make up a small fraction of schools nation-wide.  Only 2.5% of students attend charter schools and, although there is great federal pressure to raise this number, there is not compelling evidence that charter schools in general offer better educational options.

Second, charter schools are more segregated than traditional schools.  Charter schools often locate in urban areas with high concentrations of black and other minority students, making charter schools highly segregated schools for black children in particular.  Over 70 percent of black students that attend charter schools attend schools with 90-100 percent minority students.  43 percent of these students attended schools with 99 percent minority students.  In total, black students comprise approximately 30 percent of all charter students.  This means black students who attend charter schools will most likely attend intensely segregated schools.  This trend is true, to a lesser extent, for all minority charter school students, who are more likely to attend a segregated charter school than a traditional public school.

Third, depending on the region of the country being studied, charter school trends vary widely.  Different proportions of students of different races attend charter schools, sometimes trending against the wider demographics of the region, depending on the region of the country being studied.  This is true for white, black and Latino students.

Fourth, there is alarmingly little data offered by some schools, cities and states, making charter school assessment on many of these issues somewhat difficult.  Many charter schools (one in four) do not report data on low-income students and many also do not report data on English Language Learners.  More data must be available to ensure that charter schools are serving all students equitably.

The federal government should take immediate steps to promote charter school integration by updating civil rights regulations as they apply to charter schools.  There also needs to be assurances, based on regulation, that data can be collected around race, class and language ability of charter school students.  Data on socioeconomic status should be included in the charter school evaluative process.

Important Quotes:

“Decades of social science studies find important benefits associated with attending diverse schools, and, conversely, related educational harms in schools where poor and minority students are concentrated.”

“Ironically, charter schools held an early promise of becoming more integrated than regular public schools because they were not constrained by racially isolating school district boundary lines. This report shows instead that charter schools make up a separate, segregated sector of our already deeply stratified public school system.”