Leadership for Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships Susan Gunderman International Center for Leadership in Education Susangunderman@comcast.net

Leadership for Rigor, Relevance and Relationships “Leadership is action, not position.” -Donald H. McGannon Instructional Strategic Long range plan Tactical Deliberate Action

Change can be scary. “Some people change when they see the light, others when they feel the heat.” - Caroline Schroeder

do you implement and sustain meaningful change? Leadership for Change Why What How is change needed? needs to be done ? do you implement and sustain meaningful change?

Why Change? “The primary aim of education is not to enable students to do well in school, but to help them do well in the lives they lead outside of the school.”

Mission Prepare students for the world they will inhabit outside the schoolhouse walls. Engage them in learning that will develop skills that are transferable to the 21st Century world.

What do we change? Teaching is only as good as the learning that takes place. Tale conversation beyond teaching and focus on learning

Rigor Challenging work that moves students from their comfort zone to a higher level of thinking.

Rigorous instruction prepares students to think critically so they can solve problems in unpredictable, real world situations. Thinking outside the car.

Relevance My only skill is taking tests.

BBC Survey 60% could not locate England on a map 20% believe sun revolves around the Earth 60% could not locate England on a map 21% could not locate US 55% could not name a country that begins with “U” Bill of Rights: 1 in 4 could name one 1 in 5 named “right to own a pet“

BBC Survey the Simpsons Family in the South Pacific 50% could name at least two members of the Simpsons Family 80% knew Fiji is located in the South Pacific

Students will remember learning that is connected to their own lives. Intelligence v Relevance Students will remember learning that is connected to their own lives.

Vision and Implementation “There are no teachers with correct answers, only guides with different areas of expertise and experience that may help along the way.” ~ Peter Senge and Fred Kofman, 1995 Flip the funnel

Rigor and Relevance Framework Shifts the Focus from Teaching to Learning

Rigor/Relevance Framework Knowledge High Application Low Low High

Knowledge Taxonomy 1. Awareness 2. Comprehension 3. Application 4. Analysis 5. Synthesis 6. Evaluation

Application Model 2. Application within discipline 1. Knowledge of one discipline 2. Application within discipline Application across disciplines 4. Application to real world predictable situations 5. Application to real world unpredictable situations

Rigor/Relevance Framework Knowledge Application 1. Recall Knowledge 2. Comprehension 3. Application 4. Analysis 5. Synthesis 6. Evaluation 1. Knowledge of one discipline 2. Application within discipline Application across disciplines 4. Application to real world predictable situations 5. Application to real world unpredictable situations

D C A B Rigor/Relevance Framework Knowledge Application High Low Low

From Theory to Practice Moving Rigor and Relevance Into the Classroom

Theory to Practice Develop a school-wide focus on instruction through RR Instructional Strategies Handbook Common vocabulary Common vision of effective instruction

Collaboration for Best Practices Give teachers time to talk about their craft. Use meeting time to talk about instruction. Share best practices.

Collaboration Snack and Shares Instructional Strategies by Quadrant Graphic Organizers Developing a Rubric Aligning Instruction and Assessments Designing Writing Prompts in Content Areas

Collaboration Principal’s Roundtable Discussions The World Is Flat Current literature Brain Research Learning Styles Grading Practices 9th Grade Success Stupid in America Out of India

Collaboration Staff Meetings Faculty Meetings Collaborative Groups Show and Tell Collaborative Groups Planning Quadrant D Lessons

Reflective Questions to Provoke Crucial Conversations What do you intend students to learn? What is the level(s) of Rigor and Relevance? How do you know students understood the lesson? What data are you using to determine you are meeting the standards? What can I do as instructional leader to support your efforts?

What strategies do you use to address Reflective Questions What strategies do you use to address individual learning styles? What was the most successful part of the learning experience and why? If you teach this lesson again, how would you change it? What evidence can you share regarding achievement of standards? How do you know learning has occurred?

Benchmarks for Progress

Instruction with High Expectations

D Quadrant Lesson Creation Standard: Prose and Document Literacy Select outcome: Be able to synthesize concepts learned in a nonfiction unit. Select product: Publish a newspaper article based on children’s literature

Required Components Headline By-line Staged photograph Cutline and pull quote Map Continuation headline, if needed Body (250-400 words) Interview Site visit Archival research

Match to verb and strategy Products Verbs Strategies evaluation opinion estimation trial article adaptation debate new game invention evaluate validate justify rate referee infer rank dramatize argue conclude inquiry research cooperative learning presentation project design

Provide rubric

All articles presented orally, then published in spiral-bound book and given to each student.

Student Reflection “First of all, I never thought we could get it all together to actually produce a newspaper with all the parts that you wanted. But we did it, and I actually learned a lot. Mostly I learned that I had to pull my load so that we didn’t look like a bunch of slackers compared to the other groups. And I think I know what it might feel like to be a publisher in charge of getting a newspaper to press on time. Definitely not for me!”

Biology II Human Anatomy Project Dr. Joanne Jezequel

Children’s Book Project Anatomy & Physiology

Student Reflection “I once had a teacher who said, ‘If you truly understand a concept, you can find at least 5 different ways to retell the information.’ The children’s book helped me think past the memorization of dry textbook material.”

Renewal Dr. Daggett meets with students and teachers Responses surprising “I feel a little sorry for my teacher trying to get to D” Teachers 4; students 2.5 Clearly not there yet The challenge

Answering the Challenge Each teacher will create a D quadrant lesson Work in collaborative groups Present lessons at faculty meeting

Expectations and Resources Work in collaborative groups 1.5 hours per month Workdays Peer visits Snack and Shares Rigor and Relevance 101 Movie Maker, Podcasts, Garage Band Designing Rubrics

Kennesaw Mountain Model Lessons Presentation

expectations and celebrations Turning Point: Training Students Make them part of expectations and celebrations

Sustaining High Expectations for Rigor and Relevance

Sustaining the Work “Single mindedness” KFC not Baskin Robbins

Sustaining the Work Collaborative planning Sharing resources, insights, challenges, success

Collect and analyze data to help guide work Sustaining the Work Collect and analyze data to help guide work “Measure what matters.” See it through to the end.

Involve Students in the Conversations about Instruction Talk to the students Monthly principal’s lunch Enrollment in AP/Honors classes What motivates you in a class? Interpret test data and climate surveys Delta

Eye-rollers, “BMGs” and Toxic Dumpers Sustaining the Work Confront Active Negativity Eye-rollers, “BMGs” and Toxic Dumpers Be creative Have fun!

Quadrant D Lessons only thing that matters…. Not one more thing…. A more effective way of doing the only thing that matters…. Engaging students in rigorous and relevant learning!

Rigor, Relevance and Relationships “This is not what we do, it’s who we are.” Kevin Maholchek Class of 2008

International Center for Leadership in Education, Inc. 1587 Route 146 Rexford, NY 12148 Phone (518) 399-2776 Fax (518) 399-7607 E-mail - info@LeaderEd.com www.LeaderEd.com

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