Administrative Council January 17, 2010

Big idea Why are learning strategies so important?

Agenda Before 9:00 – 9:15 –Activating prior knowledge During 9:15 – 9:35 –What is this about and why are we here? 9:35 – 10:10 –What does AFL data tell us about learning strategies? 10:10 – 10:20 – Coffee break 10:20 – 10:50 –How does this look in real life? After 10:50 – 11:00 –Assess and reflect (return to anticipation guide)

Essential questions How are learning strategies part of every subject area? How do I recognize learning strategies when I see them? Are there certain strategies that hold more importance than others? Do we have any data that tells us how we are doing on learning strategies? How will this be reflected in UbD plans?

Activating prior knowledge Complete the Anticipation Guide at you table. Reflect on what you already know to answer your questions.

What is a learning strategy? Learning strategies are the thoughts and actions we engage in, consciously or not, to learn new information. The goal of explicitly teaching learning strategies is to help students consciously and metacognitively focus on how they learn so they apply strategies before, during, and after engaging with texts across all subject areas. Students, over time, will develop skill in using multiple strategies which they can then independently apply to new and different situations.

Airplane analogy Destination – Outcome Connecting flights – learning experiences Strategies – Strategies Telling students: “Make sure you make your connecting flights” is like telling them about the outcome without equipping them with strategies on how to do so. Strategies – check the departure board, make sure you have your carry on, pack entertainment for layovers, find your gate early, look for signs, etc.

So how is a learning strategy different from an instructional strategy? Learning strategyInstructional strategy Activating prior knowledgeK-W-L Anticipating author’s messageThink-pair-share Pausing, thinking and making notesT-chart Consider illustrationsPicture walk

The reality Have you ever been disengaged? Why did this happen? When is this a reality for students in our schools?

Visualization Imagine a time when you were highly engaged in a text, whether it be a novel, a movie, a television program or a speaker. Think about how it felt to be engaged. How would you describe this experience? What kinds of strategies did you use to increase your comprehension or understanding? Did you think about these things as you engaged in the text? People who are good at comprehension and creation, are equipped with strategies to do what they do so well.

Strategy proficiency People who are “good” at comprehension and creation: Consider the text Question the author (or director or actor or…) and the information Solve problems while engaging in the text Enjoy humour Savour interesting language (visual, written, spoken) Marvel over fascinating facts Wonder what may happen next

Strategy challenges The elements learners bring to a text are: Word recognition knowledge Vocabulary knowledge Background knowledge Linguistic and textual knowledge Ability to infer meanings Ability to use strategies when comprehension or composition is challenged Motivation and interest in engaging in text This makes the teaching of learning strategies so important!!

Brain research Research shows that students can only make sense of texts, either through composition or comprehension, by attaching new information and ideas onto old schema. Students do not often come equipped to do this on their own. Engaging in a learning event or linking one learning event to the next is not easy and must be taught explicitly.

A caveat Teaching learning strategies must be explicit but… if we don’t go to the next step to discuss how using the strategy helps us understand text more deeply, then we are teaching a strategy for the sake of teaching a strategy.

Return to the anticipation guide How did the strategy of activating prior knowledge (learning strategy) through the anticipation guide (instructional strategy) increase your ability to understand this professional development session? Why do we activate prior knowledge? How does it help with our ability to comprehend and respond?

So why does this matter for everyone? Every single thing students do in every single class is part of communication. When students read a science textbook, they are reading to understand. When they create a poster in health, they are composing a representation. When they give an oral presentation, they are speaking. If you have ever wondered why students submit a less than quality product in any subject, it is because they did not use learning strategies effectively before, during and after their learning experiences.

What we want to know… Are they engrossed in the text? Are they asking questions? Are they recording connections? Are they noting significant or key ideas from quotations, illustrations, or a speech? Can they summarize what they’ve read or heard? Can they make inferences? Can they have deep conversations about what they are reading or viewing or hearing? Are they open to other viewpoints? Do they reread or revisit portions of the text?

Middle and secondary Reading at the secondary school level is more demanding, in part because the texts are longer and more complex, in part because the expectations for prior knowledge are so high, and in part because the concepts become more abstract and complex. Reading in the domains is reading to learn, but it nevertheless requires that young people also learn to read these specialized texts. Subject matter teachers are the best people to teach youth how to make sense of the texts of those domains. Comprehension Across the Curriculum: Perspectives and Practices K-12, Ganske and Fisher, 2010

Multiple subject areas A significant difference between expert and novice mathematicians and between high and low performing students is in their use of metacognitive skills during problem solving. Whereas novices tend to read the problem and then use trial-and-error methods to solve it, experts devote considerable time to analyzing the problem, planning, and verifying the results of their chosen strategy. Schoenfeld, 1987

Revisit your anticipation guide Can you add to your understanding? What have you learned?

Reading 2009, 2007 Mathematics 2009, 2007, 2005 Writing 2010, 2008 Treaty Essential Learnings (TELs) 2010, 2009 With each of the above two categories emerge: Performance Data Opportunity-to-Learn Data Assessment for Learning (AFL)

Two sets for each subject/grade level 1. Teacher Questionnaire Data 2. Student Questionnaire Data Are there surprises within data? (Either teacher and student surveys.) Are there specific data pieces within OTL that, when shared with teachers, would be beneficial for them? Opportunity-to-Learn Data

Reading (4)Reading (7)Reading (10) Perry MamerCory FroehlichBrian Anderson Shelly PierlotJill ClapsonEric Hufnagel Rodney WhiteKelly Christopherson Writing (5)Writing (8)Writing (11) Randy KerrNeil FinchDean Armstrong Brenda GabrielKen OkaneeYvonne Day Trevor Norum Math (5)Math (8)Math (20) Randy SteciukRocky ChysyckJerry Heffernan Trevor WasilowTrevor McIntyreBryan Young Wade Rolles Groupings for AFL

Engaging in the data Look at the AFL Assessment data in assigned groups. Note any patterns or trends in the data. Are there surprises? What should we share with teachers?

Trends in the NESD Areas of challenge RAD – making predictions, justifying opinions, identifying strategies Reading – Reader Response Writing – Expository, effective strategy use, organization Math – Complex problem-solving, effective strategy use *in many cases, the challenge seems to be moving from adequate to proficient

Remember Assessing student comprehension, composition and strategy use is not the same as teaching students to use strategies!

Constructing understanding Groups Math Jerry Heffernan Rocky Chysyk Jill Clapson Trevor McIntyre Phys. Ed Rodney White Randy Kerr Perry Mamer Neil Finch ELA Dean Armstrong Ken Okanee Brenda Gabriel Robert Moore Social Studies Wade Rolles Yvonne Day Randy Steciuk Health Shelley Pierlot Brian Anderson Eric Hufnagel Trevor Norum Science Cory Froelich Kelly Christopherson Trevor Wasilow Bryan Young

Task Look in your envelope and read the task students will need to do in your subject area. Using the planning sheet and the learning strategy “menu”, choose the strategies that will be essential for students to learn in the process of achieving the outcome. If time, next to the learning strategies you have chosen, jot in instructional strategies that may be used to help students arrive at their destination.

Recognizing learning strategies In UbD plans – Learning Plan section In the classroom - video

Video examples

Continuum of learning  I do, you watch  I do, you help  You do, I help  You do, I watch Wilhelm, Baker & Dube Hackett, 2001

Introducing a new strategy Name the strategy to be learned. State the purpose of the strategy Explain when to use the strategy Link prior knowledge to the new strategy Demonstrate the use of the strategy Talk about errors to avoid when using the strategy Check the use of the strategy Adapted from Differentiated Professional Development by Linda Bowgren and Kathryn Sever, 2010.

For more information Curriculum Corner – quick tour ELA curricular documents Metacognition, Strategy Use, and Instruction, Waters and Schneider eds., 2010 Comprehension Across the Curriculum: Perpectives and Practices K-12, Ganske and Fisher eds., 2010 Orchestrating Success in Reading, Reithang, 2002 Teaching Students With Reading Difficulties and Disabilities, Saskatchewan Learning, 2004

Essential questions How are learning strategies part of every subject area? How do I recognize learning strategies when I see them? Are there certain strategies that hold more importance than others? Do we have any data that tells us how we are doing on learning strategies? How will this be reflected in UbD plans?

Revisit your anticipation guide Can you add to your understanding? What have you learned?