Issue 90: May 10, 2010 Connections Newsletter
Be Specific When Speaking about Areas Where Students are Failing
Jennifer Partrick
May 10, 2010
We recognize when students are not on grade level and talk about their weaknesses in broad terms. We say things like, "She just can't read!" or "She does not understand a thing she reads!" or, "He does not know his multiplication facts! or, "He just can't add!" But, what we really need to be doing is looking deeper to those reasons why students are unable to accomplish certain academic tasks. There are other factors that are at the foundation of learning that all teachers should be aware. Barringer, Pohlan and Robinson (2010) write about the neurodevelopmental framework as espoused by All Kinds of Minds as a means to better understand how students learn and to use this information to prepare instruction to meet all students' needs. This framework consists of several constructs. These constructs are; attention, higher-order cognition, language, memory, neuromotor function, social cognition, spatial ordering and temporal-sequential ordering. As we think about learning, we can begin to look at reasons why our students are being successful or not being successful in school. We can begin to think about how strengths and weaknesses within one or more of the constructs are impacting learning and then create a plan to support our students in all aspects of their academic life.
Here is a scenario to help you understand the underlying problems of failure as it plays out so often in school. Johnny is unable to complete multiplication problems efficiently and correctly. Johnny is given the following assignment to complete: 694 x 37. Let us think about what Johnny must know in order to complete the problem. He must know the order in which to multiply each number. You begin with the 4 and multiply 7, then repeat with 9, 6. Then you start over with the 4, 9, and 7 and multiply each number in turn by 3. You need to know to place a 0 before multiplying by 3 in the correct space. You need to know multiplication facts, to place the product in the correct place, to remember to regroup any tens or hundreds and place those numbers in the appropriate place, remember to add in the numbers that were regrouped, you must not mix up the regrouped numbers, you need to add both sets of products, if there are any numbers that were regrouped during the adding process you need to know where to put them, you need to remember to add them back in, and finally you need to know your multiplication facts (again). Look at the list of things Johnny has to know in order to solve this problem, and all of the things not related to multiplication. First think about the purpose of the assignment. Is this an assignment to see how well Johnny knows his multiplication facts or is this an assignment to check if Johnny can complete the assignment correctly, following the correct steps? The answer is most likely a combination of the two. However, if Johnny knows his multiplication facts but cannot remember the steps to follow in order to arrive at the correct answer, he will get the answer wrong. On the other hand, if Johnny knows the steps but does not know his multiplication facts he most likely will also get the answer wrong. Do you see how much Johnny relies on memory in order to complete this assignment? Instead of thinking about Johnny purely from the standpoint of not knowing his multiplication facts, we can think about Johnny's challenge as not having a strong memory. Since the ‘root' of the problem lies in memory, we can think about Johnny's challenges in a new way. We can begin to think about strengthening Johnny's weakness- memory. We can begin to think about finding ways to support his weak memory so he can complete assignments, in addition to finding ways to strengthen his memory. With this in mind we can then begin to create a plan for Johnny that gets to the root of his problem.
So, to support Johnny we could consider this: If Johnny knows his multiplication facts but not the sequence, consider posting the sequence of steps in the classroom, or at Johnny's desk. This is not cheating! Posting the sequence gives Johnny the chance to complete the assignment because he does not have to rely on his poor memory to get the job done. Also, if Johnny has the steps in easy reach, as he works through the problems in the correct sequence multiple times, the sequence becomes ingrained in him from continuous use (multiple opportunities to build success).
Suppose Johnny knows the sequence but not his multiplication facts, consider posting the multiplication facts for Johnny. Again, doing this allows Johnny to complete the assignment and bypasses his weak memory. Consider giving Johnny multiplication problems related to the multiplication facts that he is learning only. Doing this gives him the opportunity to interact with those facts many times so that he is better able to memorize them.
We can also think about other ways to support Johnny's memory. Give Johnny other ways to solve multiplication problems. Other ways may not be as fast, but they will get him there. A solution is to give Johnny smaller chunks of multiplication facts to memorize at one time. For example, if he is learning the multiplication facts for 2, teach him how to skip count, or, have him memorize 2x1 - 2x5 for a couple of days, and give him simple tests before moving on to the next sets of numbers. Have him time himself doing tests and then check his answers to see how well he is doing. Give Johnny problems related to the multiplication facts that he is working on in order to give him multiple opportunities to work through those facts. Learning smaller chunks is not as overwhelming as having to memorize the entire set of multiplication facts.
Finally, as we think about areas where children are unsuccessful, consider looking beneath the obvious to glean the root of the problem. If we know the root of the problem then we stand a much better chance of strengthening it.
Reference:
Barringer, M., Pohlman, C., & Robinson, M (2010) Schools for all kinds of minds. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. San Francisco, CA
Differentiation - An “Aha” Moment for Me
Laurian Phillips
May 10, 2010
When it comes to differentiation, the one thing I found most helpful was to create a chart of my students' learning strengths and weaknesses. After about a month or so of school, you begin to really learn what works and what doesn't for each student. You discover what I call their "learning characteristics."
In the past, I created my task, and then tried to come up with ways to differentiate the task from books and from what I learned in trainings, or whatever I could think of because that was what I was supposed to do - differentiate, right? But none of the things I was doing was actually helping my students. I failed to take into account the most important detail - the students' needs.
So, I started with a chart similar to the one below:
Then, looking at the characteristics and the differentiation needs, I adjust the task so that it meets all of my students' needs. In the following example, the task requires students to fill in a matrix to classify and categorize quadrilaterals and then to create a product to explain their findings to the class. To differentiate the task, students choose one box from each row as they complete the task:
When I compare the choice board to the learning characteristics table, I find that I am keeping students' needs in mind as I differentiate the task, rather than finding ways to differentiate and hope that they fit my students' needs. This is the purpose and intent behind differentiation. It must meet MY students' specific needs. When I begin with the students in mind, my outcome is much more valuable. This was my "Aha" moment about Differentiation. What's your's?
Questions
Barbara McSwain
May 10, 2010
Every year the Superintendents, District Office, Principals and teachers talk about wanting the district/school to move forward. If we are serious about increasing student achievement, we may need to examine the answers to a few of these questions:
1. Why is it critical for my district/school to understand the importance of Balanced Achievement?
2. Why is it necessary for teachers to have collaborative planning time to increase achievement?
3. Is the schedule of my school reflective of adult needs or student needs?
4. Do we have common units/lessons? Does every lesson include the top five strategies that raise achievement?
5. How often do I use Collaborative Pairs for large group instruction/lecture? Do all the educators in the building understand that the use of Collaborative Pairs is indicative of the amount of time students are summarizing during large group/lecture activities?
6. Are administrators conducting Monitoring/Walk-Throughs? How often are teachers receiving feedback? How often are Reflection Meetings held? Do administrators spend more time conversing with teachers during their planning time or monitoring classroom instruction? What is the difference between the two?
7. Are we teaching the Lesson Essential Question or the Answer to the Lesson Essential Question?
8. Why is it important to connect concepts and vocabulary?
9. In order to move a school forward, why is it important to get beyond just posting a few Lesson Essential Questions and using a few Graphic Organizers?
10. Why is it just as important for leadership to receive support from LEARNING-FOCUSED via Leadership workshops/mentoring as it is for teachers to receive support from Conferencing? Why should Conferencing be attached to training?
You may want to add other questions to this list that are specific for your school/district. One of the questions we must pose as we begin to plan for the 2011 year is, "How is our professional development plan for teachers/administrators and our school improvement model connected to increase student achievement? Are all stakeholders involved? Are we communicating effectively? Who is willing to ask the really challenging questions so we are able to move forward, even if it means there will be times not everyone is comfortable? And of course, we must ask the really big question, "How will what I am doing benefit children?"
The answers to these and other questions can be found by attending a LEARNING-FOCUSED workshop either at the training center in Greensboro, N.C., purchasing LEARNING-FOCUSED Direct or by scheduling an onsite training. To schedule training, contact Client Services at 866-955-3276 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Please visit http://www.learningfocused.com to view and register for upcoming trainings at the National Training Center in Greensboro, NC or to review/purchase materials.
