Issue 111: Nov 01, 2010 Connections Newsletter
Collaborating Through Vertical Content Conversations
Debbie Willingham
Nov 01, 2010
Vertical content conversations are a great way to continue and enhance teacher collaboration, both within a school and among feeder schools. Frequent opportunities for regular collaboration among teachers across grades and schools about common and similar content can be a key factor in increasing student success. It also enables teachers at different school levels to see subjects and students from the others' perspectives. Teachers of younger students are too often unaware of the critical role they play in preparing students for later grades, and higher grade level teachers are often unaware of the challenges faced by teachers when students are younger and less mature.
Organizing vertical teams of teachers can result in a successful plan for more successful classes. Vertical conversations are sometimes thought of as part of an advanced placement program, but they are much more inclusive than that. Teachers collaborating in this way are able to identify primary teaching responsibilities for different grade levels and courses, identify where and when skills should be taught and reinforced throughout the grades, identify exactly what students should leave a course/grade knowing and able to do, and build awareness of the importance of rigor in all courses and grades.
Introducing all students to higher level thinking strategies at an earlier age and developing a continuum of skill building from one grade to the next are important goals that can move schools from the status quo towards becoming exemplary schools. Reducing the amount of time spent on repetition so more time can be spent on new content and encouraging students to apply and build on past instruction, as well as encouraging them to accept more responsibility, are areas all teachers agree need attention. Working collaboratively on this effort results in a much higher potential for success. All of this takes open, honest conversations and setting aside time to discuss and make plans for implementation, but it is well worth the effort.
For more information about how to implement collaboration through vertical content conversations and many other ideas that set Learning-Focused schools apart, be sure to make plans to attend the 2011 Learning-Focused Great Ideas Conference in Atlanta.
How Can Teachers Write Challenging Yet Appropriate Lesson Essential Questions
Cindy Riedl
Nov 01, 2010
Before addressing this question, lets examine the relationship between Lesson Essential Questions and Standards. Lesson Essential Questions reflect what students should know and do as identified in the Standards driving a lesson. They are phrased in the form of a question to establish the expectations for instruction and learning. Lesson Essential Questions provide the focus of the lesson, stimulates student interest as it is introduced at the beginning of the lesson, and serves as the Summarizing Strategy by having students answer the question. As you get better at creating Lesson Essential Questions, you will find yourself creating questions that elicit more than a factual response. Your quest becomes one to design questions that require students to move beyond basic recall of knowledge and rote demonstration of skills to application and higher le vel thinking.
Creating a Lesson Essential Question starts with the K-U-D Organizer and to the question of what we want our students to know, understand and be able to do. What are the Know's and Do's of the unit and how can I rephrase them into questions that cause students to wonder and be curious about the answer? The questions you create should require students to think at a higher level and reflect upon how they can apply knowledge and skills they are learning. Typically the 'knowledge questions' you create become Assessment Prompts within the lesson.
In order to elicit specific responses, consider whether to ask closed or open questions. A closed question is one in which there are a limited number of acceptable answers, most of which you will usually anticipate. With open questions there are often many acceptable answers, some of which you will not anticipate. Higher level questions tend to be open and encourage divergent thinking.
Application Questions:
These questions ask students to apply essential knowledge, facts, techniques and rules to new settings and contexts in a different way. For example: How could you apply these grammar and usage principles to your essay? How could you demonstrate the use of this concept? How would you illustrate this process in action? What can we generalize from these facts? Key Words include: apply, develop, build, construct, experiment with, select, organize, plan, solve and utilize.
Question Stems:
• How would you use ...?
• What examples can you find to ...?
• How would you solve _____ using what you've learned ...?
• What approach could you use to ...?
• What other way would you plan to ...?
• What elements would you choose to change ...?
• What would result if ...?
• What facts would you select to show ...?
Analytical Questions:
These questions ask students to examine and break key information into parts by identifying motives or causes and to analyze essential concepts themes, and processes. Then they can make inferences and find evidence to support generalizations. For example: How are these characters alike and different? What is an analogy that might represent this situation? How would you classify these literary works? What are the major elements that comprise this sequence of events? What are the major causes of this situation? Key words include: analyze, assumption, categorize, classify, compare, contrast, dissect, distinguish, examine, inference, inspect, relationships, simplify, test for and simplify.
Question Stems:
• What are the parts or features of ...?
• How is _____ related to ...?
• What motive is there ...?
• What is the theme ...?
• What inference can you make ...?
• What conclusions can you draw ...?
• How would you classify ...?
• What evidence can you find ...?
• How can you make a distinction between _____ and ______?
• What is the function of ...?
• What ideas justify ...?
Synthesis Questions:
These questions require students to formulate a holistic summary of key ideas, make inferences, or create new scenarios. They must compile information together in a different way by combining elements in a new pattern or proposing an alternative solution. For example: What would you hypothesize about these unusual events? What do you infer from her statements? Based upon these facts, what predictions would you make? How do you imagine the space ship would look? What do you estimate will be the costs for the project? How might you invent a solution to this ecological problem? Key words include: adapt, change, combine, compile, construct, delete, elaborate, formulate, imagine, improve, invent, modify, plan, propose, solve, test or theorize.
Question Stems:
• What changes would you make to solve ...?
• How would you improve ...?
• What would happen if ...?
• How would you adapt ____ to create a different ...?
• What could be done to minimize (maximize) ...?
• How would you estimate the results for ...?
• How could you construct a model that would change ...?
• How could you plan an original way for the ...?
• Suppose you could ____ what would you do ...?
Interpretive and Evaluative Questions:
These are open-ended questions that require students to formulate opinions in response to ideas presented in a print or non-print (e.g., art work, audio-visual) medium. Students must support their opinions with direct textual evidence. For example: What does Frost mean when he says: "I have miles to go before I sleep?" Why does the photographer emphasize only his subject's eyes? These questions require students to formulate and justify judgments and criticisms based upon clearly-articulated evaluative criteria. They must present and defend opinions by making judgments about information, validity of ideas or quality of work. For example: Why did you decide to choose that course of action? How would you rank these choices? How might you defend that character's actions? How would you verify that conclusion? What is your critique of that work of art? Key words include: agree, appraise, assess, criteria, criticize, deduct, defend, determine, dispute, interpret, judge, justify, prioritize, prove, rate, recommend or rule on.
Question Stems:
• What is your opinion of ...?
• How would you prove ...? Disprove ...?
• How would it be better if ...?
• Why did the character choose ...?
• What would you recommend ...?
• How would you rate the ...?
• What would you cite to defend the actions ...?
• What choice would you have made ...?
• What judgment would you make about ...?
• Based on what you know, how would you explain ...?
• What information would you use to support the view ...?
• How would you justify ...?
Keep in mind that any of the above types of questions are powerful tools to utilize as Assessment Prompts to determine the level of student understanding and to challenge higher level thinking throughout the lesson. Be prepared to deal with the challenge presented by student responses to your questions!
