Instruction at the Core of Improved Student Learning Iowa Department of Education April 4, 2007

Pam Pfitzenmaier Administrator Division of PK-12 Education

Today’s Work Addresses 3 Elements From the Iowa Focus on High Schools. Collaborative Leadership Professional Development Rigorous and Relevant Curriculum

Richard Elmore, Ph.D. Harvard University

TEACHER STUDENT CONTENT THE INSTRUCTIONAL CORE Points of entry for improvement of instruction The culture is present in the academic tasks that students are asked to do If you can’t see it in the core, it’s not there Academic tasks define the real accountability system in your school School improvement

CONDITIONS OF ROBUST LEARNING Assessment of prior knowledge precedes instruction Real world situations; Concrete precedes abstract Multiple opportunities for practice Work across multiple of levels of cognitive demand, multiple domains Multiple opportunities to demonstrate and assess performance/understanding Transfer of control over learning from teacher to student Transfer of knowledge to unfamiliar situations

THE TASKS THAT STUDENTS ARE ASKED TO DO DETERMINE WHAT THEY LEARN

Levels of Cognitive Complexity Retrieval of fact from from text Recall and accurate execution of procedure Arraying and interpreting information from multiple sources Choosing, applying, justifying known procedures to unfamiliar situations, problems; communicating results to technical, lay audiences Designing new procedures to approach unfamiliar problems; communicating results to technical, lay audiences Reflection, assessment, evaluation of self in problem-solving situations

MAIN FINDINGS-- NAEP MATH STUDY High school students are taking more math classes at higher levels Math performance of high school students is steady or declining Girls’ math participation now equals or exceeds boys’, but girls’ performance is lower Which math courses students take is a weak predictor of how much mathematics they actually know (nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard)/

COHERENCE AND ALIGNMENT COHERENCE THE VARIOUS PIECES OF THE WORK FIT TOGETHER IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE; A STORY THAT EVERYONE CAN TELL ALIGNMENT PEOPLE IN VARIOUS ROLES ACROSS THE SYSTEM ARE WORKING ON THE SAME TASKS

INTERNAL COHERENCE PRECEDES AND DETERMINES IMPROVEMENTS IN SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

Responsibility Expectations Accountabilit y How accountability works (INDIVIDUAL ) (ORGANIZATION) STRUCTURES, PROCESSES HOW WE ACCOUNT FOR WHAT WE DO.

Responsibility Individual values, norms, beliefs Embedded in practice Often unconscious, implicit Define, give meaning to individual practice Usually grounded in “my personal experience” How accountability works

Expectations Collective norms, values, beliefs Affect relations among adults, adults/students, school and its constituencies Often unconscious, implicit-- “the wallpaper” Define, give meaning to collective work How accountability works

Accountability Routines, structures, procedures by which individuals account for their work Norms that define to whom individuals are accountable for what and how

R E A School A: “We know what we’re doing” Responsibility trumps expectations, accountability Atomized, variable practice Focus on order Low transparency of practice Weak norms of practice Low agency: students and faculty believe that they are not responsible for learning How accountability works THE DEFAULT CULTURE

School B: “We work well together” RE A Strong community values; clearly-articulated Strong, implicit norms of privacy, autonomy Expectations created by voluntarism, affiliation Weak agreement on accountability mechanisms Individualized agency: “if you try, you can do it.” How accountability works STRONG COLLEGIALITY, WEAK ACCOUNTABILITY

RE A School C:”A Community of Practice” High alignment among responsibility, expectations, accountability High transparency of practice Explicit norms, processes, structures of accountability High support: focused, individualized High agency: “If I can’t do it, they will help me. If we can’t do it, we will learn how.” PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY How accountability works

MEMORIZE THIS Proportion of Variance in student achievement explained by level-- MATH, TIMSS STUDENT (55%) CLASS (30%) SCHOOL (15%) WILLIAM SCHMIDT, ET AL., FACING THE CONSEQUENCES (1999), 174.

MEMORIZE THIS PROPORTION OF VARIANCE IN STUDENT GAIN SCORES- - READING, MATH-- EXPLAINED BY LEVEL--PROSPECTS STUDY CLASS 60% READING 52-72% MATH STUDENTS 28% R 19% M SCHOOLS 12% R M ROWAN, ET AL., “...PROSPECTS...” TEACHERS COLLEGE RECORD( 2005).

FORMS OF TRUST AND COLLEGIALITY Social Norms of caring Stability in relationships Transactional Mutual dependence Instrumental to the work Relational Respect, based on competence Strong normative environment Professional Established norms, protocols External standards of practice Common discourse around practice

I AM IN FAVOR OF PROGRESS, IT’S CHANGE I CAN’T STAND. MARK TWAIN

IMPROVEMENT PROCESSES [A] [B] [C] P/Q T SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT [AYP]

THE WORK OF IMPROVEMENT: FROM TECHNICAL TO CULTURAL Schedules Structures Roles Types of professional development, when Protocols, rubrics Assessments Accountability systems Beliefs about student learning Pedagogical content knowledge Norms for group work Discourse about practice Mutual accountability Distributed leadership TECHNICALCULTURAL © Richard F. Elmore Use by Permission only

TECHNICAL CULTURAL THE WORK OF IMPROVEMENT: FROM TECHNICAL TO CULTURAL © Richard F. Elmore Use by Permission only

TECHNICAL CULTURAL THE WORK OF IMPROVEMENT: FROM TECHNICAL TO CULTURAL LEARNING THE WORK USING THE WORK TO CHANGE THE CULTURE LETTING THE CULTURE DRIVE THE WORK © Richard F. Elmore Use by Permission only

Do people change their practices by first changing their values? Or Do they change their values by first changing their practices?

IMPLICATIONS FOR INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP Develop Group Skills Connected To Problems Of Instructional Practice Description Precedes Analysis, Analysis Precedes Prescription Leaders Model Their Own Learning Explicit Modeling Of Improvement: Initiate, Reflect, Assess, Retry Leadership Determined By Expertise, Rather Than Reputation And Experience Develop Norms Of Lateral Accountability

PowerPoint used with permission from Dr. Richard Elmore. April 4, 2007