Implementing and Sustaining Differentiation in the Upper Grades Perry Finch Co-Principal Blackhawk Middle School

Agenda Pre-assessment Introduction Knowledge of DI Implementing DI Sustaining DI Your draft ideas

Outcomes Increase knowledge of DI Receive examples for DI implementation Spark ideas of how to roll-out DI Explore one method of sustaining DI

IL Performance Standards for School Leaders II. Leading and managing system change The principal creates and implements systems to ensure a safer, orderly, and productive environment for student and adult learning toward the achievement of school and district improvement priorities. a. Develops, implements, and monitors the outcomes of the school improvement plan and school-wide student achievement data results to improve student achievement

IL Performance Standards for School Leaders III. Improving Teaching and Learning The principal works with the school staff and community to develop a research-based framework for effective teaching and learning that is refined continuously to improve instructions for all students. g. Develops systems and structures for staff professional development and sharing of effective practices including providing and protecting time allotted for development.

All about me

Knowledge of DI

Knowledge of DI Welcoming Environment High Expectations Routines Learning Targets

Welcoming Environment Knowledge of DI Welcoming Environment video clip

Knowledge of DI High Expectations

Knowledge of DI Routines

Knowledge of DI Learning Targets

The Research “…it is the teachers using particular teaching methods , teachers with high expectations for all students, and teachers who have created positive student-teacher relationships that are more likely to have the above average effects on student achievement.” (Hattie, 2009)

The Research Teacher Clarity: Effect size is .75 Percentile gain is 27 Organization, explanation, examples and guided practice, and assessment of student learning Effect size is .75 Percentile gain is 27 (Hattie, 2009)

Your School’s Brand video clip

Implementation PD opportunities from informed staff Rotations Start slow Student interest survey Various forms of data Pick a class Test the waters Create success, build on it, learn from it Teacher testimonials

Sustainability The work must be Relevant to teachers. How does it make them better? How can it help them work smarter, not harder? The work must be Revisited throughout the year. Regularly revisited at staff meetings Has to be echoed by voices beyond administration The work must be supported by Research. Who else believes this is important? What previous results align with your goal?

Sustainability

“A central norm of this network, to which the instructional rounds team at Harvard and I belong, is that we view our own work on instructional rounds as a continuous learning process, rather than a process of teaching people how to implement a fixed design.” Richard Elmore (Roberts, 2012)

Sustainability Instructional Core Theory of Action Problem of Practice Learning from Rounds—the five principles

Sustainability Principle number 1: Learn to do the work by doing the work, reflecting on the work, and critiquing the work. Principal number 2: Separate the person from the practice. Principle number 3: Learning is an individual and collective activity.

Sustainability Principal 4: Trust enhances individual and collective learning. Principal number 5: Learning enhances individual and collective efficacy. (City, Elmore, Fiarman, & Teitel, 2011)

Sustainability Prior to rounds, implementation observation Instructional Rounds at Blackhawk Middle School Prior to rounds, implementation observation Past two years Two Rounds a year with District One building level event IR Team members for two years IR Team plans staff meeting events and PD

Carousel Walk

Sustainability Pre rounds video clip

Sustainability Problem of Practice An instructional focus for our staff last year was moving from an emphasis on whole group instruction to more use of flexible grouping configurations. We made progress in this area last year. However, we noticed that we are struggling to connect the use of assessment information to the effective grouping of students in ways that maximize their learning outcomes. As a result, our problem of practice is the following: We are not designing or using assessment information to group students that engages them in cognitively engaging tasks based on their readiness, interests, and/or learning styles.

Sustainability Focus Questions (Drill down the problem of practice to get at collecting evidence based on patterns of practice) What evidence do you see of student groupings? Describe the groupings and the resources students use in the groups. Are students doing different tasks in different groups? Does the grouping engage students in cognitively demanding tasks?  

Sustainability What evidence do you see of success criteria for working in flexible groups? How is it communicated and by whom? What type of success criteria do you witness (tangible or visual/verbal)? What is the purpose of the success criteria? Procedural Success Criteria: what students are to do, chunking of learning target Evaluative Success Criteria: allows students to judge their or others’ work, monitor value of work

Sustainability Post rounds video clip

Evidence of Student Groupings Level 9/17 11/18 4/29 Solid Evidence 6% 28% 4% Partial Evidence 33% 17% 37% No Evidence 61% 55% 59% 11/18 Solid—Students picked partners then partners decided how to demo knowledge 4/29 Solid—data grouped, differentiated tasks, higher level questions, students know why grouped 11/18 Partial—grouped by ability, all doing one same task 4/29 Partial— grouped by performance, same task, same method 11/18 None—proximity partners, all doing same task 4/29 None—silent reading, independent work

Small Group Success Criteria Level 9/17 11/18 4/29 Solid Evidence 27% 38% 48% Partial Evidence 6% 28% 26% No Evidence 67% 34% 11/18 Solid—open-ended Qs, roles within groups, individual accountability; time for processing, inferring 4/29 Solid—valuable to learning task, may be referred to, effective exemplar or rubric, tangible or visual/verbal, procedural or evaluative 11/18 Partial—none provided 4/29 Partial— visible or tangible but not referred to, utilized, or recognized 11/18 None—no student interaction; teacher directed, students working independently all on same task. 4/29 None—not seen/heard in play at all

The value of data “The challenge is not reducing measurement error to absolute zero, but rather minimizing it as fast as practicable and doing one’s best to estimate whatever amount of error remains, so that one may act cautiously and wisely in a world where all knowledge is approximate and not even death and taxes are any longer certain.” (Patton, 2008)

Data limitations

A possible POP for you Focuses on the instructional core Is directly observable Is actionable (within school or district’s control) Connects to a broader strategy of improvement (school or district) Is high-leverage (will make a significant difference for student learning) (City, Elmore, Fiarman, & Teitel, 2011)

Implementation of DI for you What do you have in place that you can exploit to increase DI in your classroom/building/district? What do you need in order to increase DI in your classroom/building/district? What has to happen to get what you need to increase DI in your classroom/building/district? Who are your allies in this effort? What strategies might you employ (begin with end in mind? first steps? PD? communication?)

Questions

Raffle

References City, E. A., Elmore, R. F., Fiarman, S. E., & Teitel, L. (2011). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York, NY: Routledge. Patton, M. Q. (2008). Utilization-focused evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Roberts, J. E., (2012). Instructional rounds in action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. Tomlinson, C. A., Brimijoin, K. & Narvaez, L. (2008). The Differentiated School. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Tomlinson, C. A., & Imbeau, M. B. (2010). Leading and managing and differentiated classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.