Elaborating on New Content Helping Students Make Inferences and Draw Conclusions Based on Information That Was Not Explicitly Taught

Connections to Other Elements Primarily used as a means of allowing students to make deeper connections to the new critical content. In DQ2 students are strategically grouped together to process chunks of new learning through rich discussions with peers. (Element 10) This allows students to explain their thoughts, ask clarifying questions, (Element 11) and record and represent their thinking (Element 12), and revise their thinking based on new knowledge.(Element 13).

Why would we do this? When students connect information to be learned with information they already know, it takes the stress off of working memory. This happens because connections create efficiency of learning and memory. This strategy generates analytical thinkers whether students are reading, viewing a video or watching a demonstration.

Effect Size of This Element Questioning in and of itself has an effect size of .4, but when feed back is provided, the effect size jumps to 1.3. (.8 is considered significantly large)- John Hattie So we ALWAYS want to provide feedback when ever we are asking questions of our students.

Elaborate Take something that was explicitly teacher taught… Now change the situation… Throw in a what if… Throw in that monkey wrench Elaborate with peers (share and listen) Use that accountable talk when having the conversations

How can I do this… By using question sequences that spiral in difficulty where students: Articulate details about the content Identify characteristics of content related to categories Elaborate on previous answers Provide evidence and support for those elaborations

Develop a knowledge base about a specific topic. Detail Questions Develop a knowledge base about a specific topic. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - What ___________ is associated with (topic)? Characteristics Causes and consequences Purpose Values Person/place/event/time period Example: What events are associated with butterflies? migration, life cycle changes What time period is associated with WW II? 1939-1945

Ask questions about the category the details fall into. Category Questions Ask questions about the category the details fall into. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - What _________ are common to (category)? Characteristics Causes and consequences Purpose Values Person/place/event/time period Examples: What physical traits are common to flying insects? wings, legs, eyes What characteristics are common to world wars? involve many countries, are fought in many different parts of the world

Elaboration Questions Elaborate on previous answer. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Why do (category) have ___________? Why are (category) ___________? Characteristics Causes and consequences Purpose Values Person/place/event/time period Examples: Why do all flying insects have wings, legs, and eyes? Why are world wars fought in many different parts of the world?

Provide support for elaboration. Evidence Questions Provide support for elaboration. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ask students one of the following: Identify sources that support their elaboration Where did you find that information? Explain the reasoning they used to construct their elaboration Why do you think that? Qualify or restrict some of their elaboration Give an example of when your answer wouldn’t be true. Find errors in their reasoning What parts of your statement might not be correct? Examine their elaboration from a different perspective How do you think (another perspective) might answer that question?

Elementary Math Marzano’s Questioning Sequence Tiered Questions Detail Questions What shapes are associated with perpendicular lines? What shapes are associated with parallel lines? Category What characteristics are common to shapes that have perpendicular lines? What characteristics are common to shapes that have parallel lines? Elaboration Why do right angles affect a shape? Why do parallel lines affect a shape? Why do some shapes have parallel and perpendicular lines? Evidence Explain the reasoning used to answer the above questions. Examine your reasoning for misleading or inaccurate information.

Secondary ELA Marzano’s Questioning Sequence Tiered Questions Detail Questions What process is associated with identifying the point of view of characters in a text? What values and beliefs are associated with the main characters in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer? Category What causes and consequences are common to Huck’s and Tom’s point of views? What values are common to Huck’s and Tom’s point of views? Elaboration Why do different points of view affect the story? Why does Huck being the son of a neglectful father impact his point of view? Evidence Consider your elaboration from another perspective. Why would someone consider your elaboration right or wrong?

Taxonomy Question Stems You can also use the taxonomy to spiral the questions from level to level Retrieval Comprehension Analysis Knowledge Utilization

Managing Response Rates When ever questions are asked.. We want to consider how we will manage response rates to: ensure every student is engaged in the work of thinking critically the pacing of lesson is appropriate We also want to ensure we are: monitoring the answers of our students providing feedback as often as possible

Methods for Managing Response Rates Small group discussions Whole group simultaneous response White boards Response cards Nearpod Plickers Kahoot Poll everywhere

Monitoring for the Desired Effect Students can draw conclusions and/or make inferences based upon what was not explicitly taught. As students are answering questions, what do you expect to see in their written work or hear in their conversations? Determine that ahead of time. Have additional questions prepared to scaffold and guide their thinking if they are struggling. Have additional questions prepared to extend their thinking if they are correct and are early finishers.

Monitor and Reflect The difference between a good teacher and a great teacher is the relentless inspection of student work. -Rick DuFour The more teachers monitor their students and reflect on how they are progressing in the learning process, the better equipped they will be to adjust their instruction to meet student needs.

We tend to monitor for compliance and engagement. This should be our focus… We tend to monitor for compliance and engagement; we want to monitor for learning and track progress minute to minute

What are the critical parts of this definition? Teacher act Checking evidence Desired student learning of critical content During instruction

Facilitation Grid for Monitoring Use some sort of collection tool as you monitor student progress toward the understanding of critical content. A facilitation grid is one method. Write the student names down the left side. Write the learning targets or criteria you are looking for as you monitor student learning across the top. In this case it is what ever you expect to see the students writing, doing or saying as you walk around. As you walk around and monitor student work, check off who has it and who does not. Take your learning targets or criteria for success and put them on the facilitation grid.

This is where we want to live. This is where we tend to spend most of our time currently. If we monitor during learning, we can catch misconceptions at the earliest possible moment, make corrections and send students on their way to the next piece of learning.

There are different types of formative assessments There are different types of formative assessments. Depending on when you use them, they can be data we collect to monitor learning that is taking place in the moment.

This is the difference between a good teacher and a great teacher.

Monitoring During Instruction Teacher Observation: Walk and listen to student conversations around critical content Watch and listen to demonstrations, oral presentations, etc. of critical content Spot check student work to determine progress Ask probing questions to redirect or elevate thinking Review student class work Observe students as they work with manipulatives Observe students as they respond by pointing to correct answers or represent the correct answer through body movement

Scaffold/Support-Adaptations Use pictures, graphics, and diagrams Provide sentence stems Develop guiding/probing questions Tell stories to illustrate examples Regroup students to provide additional support Show work samples or point out exemplars Review reasoning behind responses before asking students to respond Provide a brief overview of critical content Post anchor charts, helpful lists, diagrams or techniques

Extension Adaptations Students answer questions that stretch them just beyond the standard to deepen and extend their thinking. Students categorize important terms and make generalizations based on those categories. Students identify how each chunk of information or each activity relates to the learning targets. Students identify similarities and differences between learning targets, and groups’ conclusions or solution methods. Students create their own graphic organizer to share with the class. Students identify strategies and techniques that were particularly useful to their knowledge gain. Students create picture, graphics, and diagrams of previously learned skills or procedures to share with the class.

Connecting PLC Work - Monitoring You are the content experts, so use each other’s experience and knowledge during your PLC time to: Prioritize and problem solve around the most critical content students must learn. Determine what mastery of the target/standard(s) looks like. Analyze data in order to share successful strategies and meet the needs of all students. Brainstorm scaffold/supports could be used to support student learning. brainstorm extensions that could be used in the learning moment to extend student learning.

Let’s Watch… secondary

Let’s Process Share your thoughts with your PLC partners. What connections can I make as I think about my classroom instruction for any content?

Now You Try… Work with a PLC partner: Select an upcoming target for a lesson Use the graphic organizer to intentionally plan a series of questions for an upcoming lesson. Think about how you will manage response rates so all students are participating and responding to the questions. Think about how you will monitor to ensure students are not only engaged and compliant, but also focusing on the academic learning for the lesson.

Upcoming Video This video is a four part series that takes about 15 minutes in total. It is about monitoring students for specific criteria you have determined prior to the lesson. The data collected through observation of the students then drives next steps for instruction. The content centers on setting the classroom conditions for accountable talk and conversations generated from spiral question in the classroom. Even though this is an elementary classroom (4th grade), the activity the students engage in is universal no matter the grade. Many secondary teachers in our region have commented on the benefits of watching the video as well as how the activity could easily transfer to their classroom environment.

Let’s watch… Elementary: Four part video on creating that collaborative environment, asking questions that require students to elaborate, gathering formative feedback of conversations and then acting upon the feedback to drive the instruction. Answer the following questions on your graphic organizer…

Additional Resources For additional examples and information on questioning you can refer to Question Sequences in the Classroom You can access the Instructional Framework Canvas Course (Course #34684) and scroll down to the link for Element 11 Elaborating on New Information.