Issue 71: Dec 07, 2009 Connections Newsletter

Data Decisions

Carol Brewer and Barbara McSwain
Dec 07, 2009

When test results come in, what do we do with all this data? It is an overwhelming question because there are so many different reports from the state, district, and even those that you may have disaggregated. Many time schools have the best intentions of compiling this information, but it never seems to get completed. And, what is the best way to compile this information so it is actually used as a tool for learning and achievement?

Data Decisions:

• How is the data going to be compiled?
• Who is responsible for collecting and updating the data?
• When will the data be updated? Where will the data be displayed for all staff to use?
• What reports will be used for accountability?
• Who, when and how often will we meet to discuss data and student progress as related to instruction?
• How is the data going to be compiled?

Many schools have been successful using a spreadsheet for collecting data. This allows you to sort the data to better meet your needs. For example, the sort can be Special Education Students that met AYP in reading, but not in math. To do this, you need to be proficient with manipulating the spreadsheet.

Who is responsible for collecting and updating the data?
Some schools have a coach or a curriculum person that is assigned this task, while other schools want all teachers involved with the results, so they are aware of the data.

When will the data be updated?
It is suggested to keep the data updated at all times - especially after state test results and benchmark assessments. This is usually where the breakdown with the data occurs. Teachers start out the year with the completed spreadsheet and seem to "get too busy" to update.

Where will the data be displayed for all staff to use?
Data Rooms are the best answer for this question. These Data Rooms display the needed information on a bulletin board or chart paper for "staff eyes only". This should not be a place where the public has access.

What reports will be used for accountability? In other words, how will we know that the data is being used?
Some schools have reports that teachers complete at the end of each quarter that indicates growth and needs. This allows all staff members to assist with meeting the needs of all students.

How will your school/ district systematically target students who appear in more than one AYP subgroups to ensure gains in student achievement?
LEARNING-FOCUSED has strategically implemented data strategies in both the Leadership Academies and the Strategies for Assessments book, plus we provide extensive leadership data coaching and conferencing with seasoned principals and superintendents whom have successfully raised achievement in schools and distric ts using data to guide instructional decisions. Call us at 866-955-3276 for more information or to schedule a day!

Data decisions need to be made to be consistent and pervasive. From a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rank the availability and use of data in your school?

Designing R-A-F-T Writing Assignments

Denise Burson
Dec 07, 2009

Effective writing assignments enable students to write fluently and purposefully for an audience. R-A-F-T actvitities can help teachers identify and incorporate the elements of an effective writing assignment.

What is R-A-F-T?

The R-A-F-T strategy is a system to help students understand their role as a writer, the audience they will address, the varied formats for writing, and the expected content. The R-A-F-T strategy was developed by Nancy Vandervanter, an English teacher from the Montana Writing Project (Santa, Havens, Nelson, Danner, Scalf, & Scalf, 1988). It offers students a way to gain a better understanding of content topics and subjects as they write.

R-A-F-T is used as a post-reading strategy, or as part of the drafting process during writing instruction. R-A-F-T is structured to help students organize their thoughts on a topic, elaborate on it, and create a thoughtful piece of writing that expresses their understanding (Strayer & Strayer, 2007).

It is an acronym that stands for:

• Role of the Writer - Who are you as the writer? A warrior? A homeless person? An auto mechanic?
• Audience - To whom are you writing? A friend? Your teacher? Readers of a newspaper?
• Format - What form will the writing take? Is it a letter? A classified ad? A speech? A poem?
• Topic + strong Verb - What's the subject or the point of this piece? Is it to persuade? To plead for a re-test?

What is the purpose?

The purpose is to give students more control over their writing. It is a new way to think about their writing assignment. A R-A-F-T can be the way to bring together students' understanding of main ideas, organization, elaboration, and coherence.

How to use R-A-F-T in your classroom?

Step one: Explain to the students that all writers have to consider four components before every writing assignment including role, audience, format, and topic. Tell them that they are going to structure their writing around these elements. (It may be helpful to display the elements on a chart)

Step two: Display a completed R-A-F-T example on the overhead, and discuss the key elements as a class.

Step three: Then, model, and "think aloud" another example of R-A-F-T with the support of the class. Br ainstorm additional topic ideas, and write down the suggestions listing roles, audiences, formats, and strong verbs associated with each topic.

Step four: Assign students to work with their partner and have them "put their heads together" to write about a topic using the R-A-F-T format.

Step five: Circulate among the pairs to provide assistance as needed. Then have them share their completed assignments with the class.

Step six: After students become more proficient in developing this style of writing, have them generate R-A-F-T assignments of their own based on current topics studied in class.

Example: Civil War R-A-F-T Writing Assignment

From the list above, choose a row for your writing assignment. Your goal is to portray your role accurately using the given format. Think of how your role would be feeling about the given topic. You must stay in character, even if your role's point-of-view is different from your own. Remember to use language appropriate to the time period but utilize proper conventions, voice, and creativity.

For more ideas check out the LEARNING-FOCUSED Writing Resources in the Literacy Collection.

Inclusion of Students with Significant Disabilities

Cindy Riedl
Dec 07, 2009

How Can We Assist Students With Significant Disabilities In Regular Classrooms When They Work Many Levels Below Classroom Peers?

If a school's curriculum and approach to learning is ‘one-size-fits-all' and differentiation is minimal or nonexistent, the response to the above question is improbable and in other cases, impossible. Then again, are ‘one-size-fits-all' classes what we want for any of our students?

Maybe we are asking the wrong question. Instead of asking whether a student is able to pursue the same learning outcomes of his or her grade level peers, maybe we should be exploring whether the disabled student's requirements can be appropriately addressed in the regular education setting. Keep in mind that The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act presumes that the first placement option for any student with a disability is in the regular classroom. The question becomes how can we achieve valid and appropriate curricular inclusion for students who function substantially below grade level?

What do we need to do to make it not only a possible experience but a successful experience for all members of the learning community? As with anything else, it begins with a belief that the principles of teaching and learning are the same regardless of whether a student is identified as disabled. Roles need to be clarified within a team structure of educators and classroom learning communities need to be developed where every student is expected to help each other to learn. Also, curricular expectations must be clear and the student must be encouraged to have an active voice in identifying which supports help and which do not. For the student to become a viable member of the classroom, he or she will have to participate in the academic work, not just be ‘physically present' or ‘socially accepted'. It is important for teachers to not to overestimate expectations or to underestimate t he capabilities of these students. The goal is to adjust the curriculum to an appropriate level of difficulty, where the student is challenged but successful. With many severely disabled students, modifications to the general education program will be necessary. Sometimes individualized or modified content will be necessary and/or individualized supports will be required beyond typical scaffolding practices. Rarely do these students require an individualize education program and supports all the time.

It is important that educators consider their options, such as Multilevel Curriculum and Curriculum Overlapping, which are two popular approaches to adapt the curriculum which will facilitate participation of students with significant disabilities. In both approaches, lessons are planned for a diverse group of same-age learners with different ability levels - not just to accommodate students with disabilities buy all learners including those advanced students who need to be challenged. Students share an activity or experience and each learner has individual learning expectations at an appropriate level of difficulty. This could be essentially be accomplished by creating differentiated assignments such as those that are tiered or occur in a R-A-F-T format and allow students to select an appropriate challenge.

In the Multilevel Curriculum, all expectations are within the same curriculum area and students are either responsible for more or fewer expectations at different levels of complexity. Students experience a menu of opportunities for learning about a topic as well as a choice as to how learning is demonstrated. Although the activity may focus on science content, the special needs student may also be learning necessary communication and social skills. All are incorporated within the framework of the lesson. The Multilevel Curriculum approach should be considered first as to whether the regular classroom instruction will provide enough accommodation before using Curriculum Overlapping.

Curriculum Overlapping should only be considered when there are substantial differences between the learning expectations most of the students are pursuing and those of a student with a disability. To determine which approach would be most appropriate for a student, instructional and support teams need to create a matrix where team members identify the expectations for the special needs students and the typical grade expectations. By comparing these to lists, support team members can identify what the focus should be to ensure meaningful participation. A special needs student's individual learning expectations or outcomes are often embedded within class activities in different content areas, such as integrating communication and social skill objectives.

Both of these approaches are ways to include students with disabilities and also provide challenge for students functioning above grade level. Teachers, who choose the Multilevel Curriculum approach, stretch their curriculum away from the standard ‘middle of the road' approach where all students share the same content, level and amount of work. This approach builds rigor for all learners through differentiated instruction and assignments. Inclusive education practices such as cooperative team planning and learning with a focus on differentiation and acceleration practices benefit all students and contribute to a learner focused classroom culture as it acknowledges differences while promoting acceptance.

Tips to Make It Happen:

1. Work in collaborative instructional teams to compare the special needs student's IEP (Individual Education Plan) expectations (outcomes) with the expected grade level expectations.

2. Determine whether the student can pursue the same learning expectations as classmates or whether a Multilevel Curriculum and instruction will provide enough accommodation before using curriculum overlapping.

3. Determine who from the instructional team is responsible for what. The goal is to ensure meaningful participation.

4. Identify a menu of alternative instructional strategies that can be applied to all students who need additional assistance accessing the curriculum, i.e. acceleration practices of previewing vocabulary and building background knowledge, modifying and scaffolding materials, differentiated instruction and/or assignments.

5. Create powerful relationships within a collaborative team of instructional specialist, parents and allow the student to have an active voice in planning how he/she will learn.