West Branch Elementary and Middle School Instructional Rounds Visit March 31, 2011

Theory of Action If students are engaged in rigorous and relevant content and learning, and if teachers and students are asking higher order questions, then students will become critical thinkers and problem solvers and student achievement will increase.

Problem of Practice It is unclear if the kinds of questions that are being asked in the classroom constitute higher order thinking skills. What questions are being asked by the students? What questions are being asked by the teacher? What tasks are students being asked to complete?  

District Instructional Rounds We began the instructional rounds process at WBCSD in September 2010. After one visit per building, we identified a district-wide concern which led eventually to our current problem of practice and theory of action. We have completed 2 additional visits per building. The staff is familiar with the process and has been presented data re: Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Response to Observations Due to the constraints of the 2010-2011 Professional Development schedule, follow up discussions directly focused on our Problem of Practice have been limited to informal conversations during building level meetings. We have also provided additional resource materials (flip chart, articles,…)

Iowa Core Effective Instruction Each WBCSD teacher selected one of the START Elements of Effective Instruction to study deeply with a small group of K-12 peers. 2009-2010: Student Centered Classrooms, Teaching for Learner Differences, Teaching for Understanding 2010-2011: Assessment for Learning, Rigorous and Relevant Classrooms, Student Centered Classrooms

Elementary Formative Assessment Analyzing Student Work Protocol Technology implementation Peer Coaching/Collaboration Explicit Instruction—reading strategies Vocabulary development

Middle School Technology Integration and 21st Century Skills 5 “real-world” jobs in the classroom Personal Learning Networks Google Apps

THE INSTRUCTIONAL CORE CONTENT 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 STUDENT TEACHER

1. What questions are students asking? Turn to other partner… what are ways you can observe or gather evidence for this

2. What questions are teachers asking?

What are the tasks that students are being asked to complete?

Classroom Observations Reminders: Describe what you see Be specific (fine grained) Pay attention to the instructional core (teacher, student, content) Observation etiquette Fine to ask students questions when it seems appropriate. Refrain from talking to each other in classrooms; save discussions for the debriefing process.

Questions?

Let’s observe!

Debriefing Classroom Observations On your own: Read through your notes Star data that seems relevant to the problem of practice and/or data that seems important Select 5-10 pieces of data, and write each on individual sticky-notes 17

Debriefing Classroom Observations 1. Share observations of each classroom you visited. Help each other stay in the descriptive (not evaluative) voice. “What did you see/hear that makes you think that?” As you discuss each classroom, use Bloom’s Taxonomy to sort your stickies. Add observations to the “relevant/important” category on a separate chart. These are observations that don’t fit on the Taxonomy but are relevant to the problem of practice. Identify patterns.

Debriefing Classroom Observations With your partner group: Designate a facilitator (task-master!) Compare your charts and identify and discuss common patterns.

Debriefing Classroom Observations Fill in a three-quadrant grid that summarizes the charts. Patterns Evidence for the POP Questions and/or Wonderings

Record Predictions Prediction: In looking at the patterns and evidence of the POP, what predictions can you make? Prediction: If you were a student at West Branch Elementary or Middle School, and you did everything you were expected to do, what would you know and be able to do? What does this tell us about the likelihood that students are engaged in asking and answering questions that will lead to higher order thinking skills and higher levels of academic achievement?

Identify the Next Level of Work What support can the West Branch Community School District provide teachers and administrators to support their efforts to provide students the opportunity to ask and answer questions that will lead to higher order thinking skills and greater levels of achievement? Brainstorm as a whole group and record ideas on chart paper. Have two people recording ideas on two separate charts.

Next Level of Work From the list of brainstormed suggestions, identify suggestions for the next level of work: Next week Next month By the end of the year. Suggestions should be directly related to the problem of practice: It is unclear if the kinds of questions that are being asked in the classroom constitute higher order thinking skills.

Share key recommendations with the West Branch leadership team… “The real path to greatness, it turns out, requires simplicity and diligence. It requires clarity, not instant illumination. It demands each of us to focus on what is vital-and to eliminate all of the extraneous distractions.” Jim Collins

Share key recommendations with the Starry Elementary Leadership Team Share charts and suggestions for NLOW West Branch Leadership Team - What additional questions did this work generate for you?

Wrap Up Thank you West Branch Elementary and Middle School! 3:45