Providing Resources and Guidance for Cognitively Complex Tasks Design Question 4 - Element 23: How can teachers provide resources and guidance as students engage in cognitively complex tasks?

Before we begin… Before we begin talking about element 23, let’s be sure that there is an understanding about how the elements in Design Question 4 are related. This is important as you plan your lessons. While watching the video, please take notes, documenting how the elements in Design Question 4 are related. Click here for the Design Question 4 Video.

Video Notes How are the elements in Design Question 4 related to one another? Element 21 outlines how students should be organized within cooperative learning groups for the purpose of engaging in cognitively complex tasks. Element 22 demonstrates that the teacher should provide students with cognitively complex tasks that allow them to generate and test hypotheses about open-ended questions with multiple correct responses. Element 23 shows that while teachers are in a coach or guide on the side position during this process, they still have a responsibility to provide resources and support as students work through the process. Now let’s talk about element 23, specifically.

Review Teacher and Student Evidence NOTE: This list of evidence is not all inclusive but is instead a list of possible examples.

Review Scale for Element 23

Desired Effect for Student Learning Strategies will only produce desired effect when implemented accurately and in the right context. The desired effect for element 23 is, “students have adequate resources and guidance to complete the hypothesis generation and testing tasks.” To receive an Innovating rating, the teacher must adapt and create new strategies for unique student needs and situations in order for the desired effect to be evident in ALL students.

Task While watching the below video, please identify five specific strategies teachers can use to provide students with resources or support as they engage in cognitively complex tasks. After watching the video you will be asked to identify the teacher and student evidence to rate the teacher on this element. Click here for the video.

Video Question Q: What are five specific strategies teachers can use to provide students with resources or support as they engage in cognitively complex tasks? A: Provide support for claims. Provide students with rubrics for guidance and self-assessment of progress. Give students feedback. What did they do well? What could be improved? Interview students to determine how they are progressing toward their goals. Circulate around the room offering support and guidance.

Task While watching the below video, please identify which of the five strategies the teacher uses to offer resources and support. After watching the video you will be asked to identify the teacher and student evidence to rate the teacher on this element. Click here for the video. *If you want to save time, there is no need to watch the first 1 minute, 17 seconds.

Video Question Q: Which of the five strategies did the teacher use to offer resources and support? A: We noticed three of the five resources being used by this teacher. First, the teacher and her aids were circulating the room to ensure that they were resources for the students. Second, the teacher had the students self-assess their designs while they were building their parachutes. Students first drew a design but during the production stage, they were allowed to assess and change their design as needed. Lastly, students received feedback about their design after dropping it off the roof. They timed their parachute, compared their times with other groups’ times, and then discussed how they would change the design to make their parachute slower the next time.

Task On the next slide is the teacher and student evidence. What evidence did you see and were able to document? Use this to rate the teacher as you walk through the next few slides.

Review Teacher and Student Evidence What did you see?

Review Teacher and Student Evidence What did we see?

How to Rate Teacher and Student Evidence You can only give credit for what you see. Teacher makes herself available to students who need guidance or resources. The teacher(s) (there appeared to be several adults available to students) circulated around the room talking with students and offering guidance. Teacher interacts with students during the class to determine their needs for hypothesis generating and testing tasks. While we can’t hear the conversations, based on the back and forth discussion and pointing to plans made for the parachutes as well as manipulation of materials, we can determine that this is present. Teacher volunteers resources and guidance as needed to the whole class, groups of students, or individual students. The resources were available to students for purchase with the money provided to students by the teacher. The students were given a price list and were able to decide, based on their design plan, what they would need to purchase. Groups that did not initially spend all of their money were able to return to purchase more supplies.

Review Scale for Element 23 to Rate the Teacher

How we Rated the Teacher This teacher is rated as Applying for element 23. While we didn’t actually hear students request guidance, at least two certified teachers and other adults were available to provide guidance to the students and were heavily circulating throughout the room. We also witnessed the students access the available materials. The teacher was monitoring the degree to which all students were provided resources and needed guidance. In order to achieve an Innovating rating, we would need to have more than just this snapshot of the class to determine if all of the students were able to access the resources and make use of the available guidance. Your evaluator would be able to determine this while present in your classroom.

What is next? First, start with a self-evaluation. What teacher and/or student evidence can you identify for element 23 in your classroom? What rating do you think you would receive on the scale for this element? Now that you have determined where you rate on the scale, take some time to identify what you need to change or improve upon in order to grow to a higher rating on the scale. The resources on the following slide may be useful in helping you to get started.

Resources How to: Use Cooperative Learning Generating and Testing Hypotheses DQ4 -Generating and Testing Hypotheses How to: Close the Achievement Gap by Using Rubrics How to: Close the Achievement Gap by Giving Specific Feedback

Is this element in your PGP? Then you need to… Sign into www.effectiveeducators.com. Click on the Growth tab and then click on the Plans option. Open your current plan and fill out a new Reflection Log, answering all of the questions. Decide how you will change your teaching as a result of viewing this module. Execute your change, reflect on its impact, and fill out another Reflection Log in iObservation.

Further questions? Here are resources in case you have further questions: Your evaluator Another evaluator on your campus Your school’s Classroom Practice Mentor (CPM)