Effective Strategies to Include Rigor in Classroom Instruction Dr. Linda Wallinger Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Virginia Department of Education July 1, 2012

2 What is “Rigor”? Is it: – Having a high failure rate in your class? – Issuing zeroes for incomplete work? – Weeding out students from honors classes? Or rather: – Providing challenging content through effective instructional approaches that lead to the development of cognitive strategies that students can use when they don’t know what to do next.

3 What is “Rigor”? Rigor requires active participation from both teachers and students. It asks students to use content to solve complex problems and to develop strategies that can be applied to other situations, make connections across content areas, and ultimately draw conclusions and create solutions on their own.

4 What is “Rigor”? Rigor requires students to not only learn the foundational knowledge of the content area, but to apply it to real-world situations. Rigor requires teachers to create a learning environment where students use their knowledge to create meaning for a broader purpose. Students learn how to develop alternative strategies if their first attempts are unsuccessful.

5 Understanding the Rigor of Virginia’s Standards of Learning Make sure to reference the most recent versions of the Standards of Learning and the Curriculum Frameworks. The curriculum frameworks for each of the tested subject areas provide details about the specific knowledge and skills students must possess to meet the standards for these subjects.

6 Aspects of Rigor High Expectations Support for Learning Demonstration of Learning

7 High Expectations Let your students know you truly believe they can meet increased expectations. Focus on the application of knowledge through higher-order thinking skills. Encourage extended responses, scaffold a weak response, avoid answering the question yourself if the student doesn’t know the answer.

8 Support for Learning Make your expectations clear to students and parents. Identify effective scaffolding strategies to help students reach a higher level of understanding. Consider graphic organizers, chunking information, drawing relationships between concepts, and other effective learning tools.

9 Demonstration of Learning “Assessment” can take many forms; it doesn’t have to be a “test.” Identify strategies to assess students’ progress frequently and in a manner that provides feedback. Review the samples of the technology enhanced items from the Standards of Learning tests and use similar formats in your formative assessments.

10 Preview and Follow the Concepts Identify how a concept was introduced in the previous grade or subject level, and how it will be used in the next grade or subject. The searchable Enhanced Scope and Sequence lesson plans in each of the tested subject areas may be a useful tool in making these connections between grades. Use the English learning progressions for reading, writing, grammar, and research.

11 Begin with the End in Mind Virginia’s College and Career Ready Performance Expectations in English and Mathematics define the level of achievement students must reach to be academically prepared for success in entry-level credit-bearing college courses. Senior Seminar or Capstone Courses in English and mathematics support students who need additional instruction to meet these expectations before leaving high school – students who may be “college intending but not yet college ready.”

12 Purpose of Capstone Courses EnglishMathematics Enhance critical reading and thinking Reinforce fundamentals of academic writing, including exposition, persuasion, and argumentation Enhance skills in number and quantity, functions and algebra, geometry, and statistics and probability Reinforce adaptability and flexibility, creativity and innovation, leadership, team work, collaboration, and work ethic

13 Skills Reinforced in Capstone Courses EnglishMathematics Refine topics Develop and support ideas and hypotheses Investigate, evaluate, and incorporate appropriate resources Edit for effective style and usage Determine appropriate approaches for a variety of contexts, audiences, and purposes Research, collect, and analyze data Develop and support ideas and conjectures Investigate, evaluate, and incorporate appropriate resources Determine appropriate problem-solving approaches and decision-making algorithms in a variety of real-world contexts and applied settings

14 Evidence of Rigor Students not only learn, do, and reflect. They also master skills such as: – Critical thinking, – Problem solving, – Creativity, – Collaboration, – Project management, and – Written and oral communication.

15 Strategies to Reinforce Critical Skills Develop similar expectations for students at different grade levels and in different content areas. Keep the activities and assignments active, engaging, and student-centered. Consult the Department of Education’s Web site for additional information on the application of rigor in particular content areas.

16 Tony Wagner’s 7 Survival Skills for Students 1.Critical Thinking and Problem Solving 2.Collaboration and Leadership 3.Agility and Adaptability 4.Initiative and Entrepreneurialism 5.Effective Oral and Written Communication 6.Accessing and Analyzing Information 7.Curiosity and Imagination

17 Variation on Bloom’s Taxonomy Remember – acquire new information Understand – summarize new learning Apply – apply new learning within the same discipline Analyze – apply new learning across disciplines Evaluate – apply new learning to real-world predictable situations Synthesize – apply new learning to real-world unpredictable situations

18 Planning for Rigor in the Classroom Rigor pushes students to not only know information but also to apply and demonstrate their understanding of that information in ways that require reflection and analysis of thinking and learning. Rigor may mean rethinking the kinds of instruction you are providing and the kinds of responses you are asking of your students.

19 Standards of Learning and SOL-Based Resources 2008 History and Social Science Standards of Learning - cialscience/index.shtml cialscience/index.shtml 2009 Mathematics Standards of Learning - ics/index.shtml ics/index.shtml 2010 English Standards of Learning - view.shtml view.shtml 2010 Science Standards of Learning - view.shtml view.shtml

20 Standards of Learning and SOL-Based Resources What Parents & Students Should Know About the New Virginia Mathematics Standards of Learning - hematics/parents_students_should_know.shtml hematics/parents_students_should_know.shtml SOL Practice Items Mathematics Standards of Learning Technology Enhanced Items: A Video Demonstration -

21 Resources Used In This Presentation Blackburn, B. R. (2012). Rigor Made Easy: Getting Started. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, Inc. Conley, D. T. (2005). College Knowledge: What it Really Takes for Students to Succeed and What We Can Do to Get Them Ready. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Summary at (Retrieved April 30, 2012.) Conley, D. T. (March 2007). Redefining College Readiness. Eugene, OR: Educational Policy Improvement Center. (Retrieved April 20, 2012.) Lenz, B. (May 27, 2008). The Four R’s: Rigor in Twenty-First-Century- Schools. San Rafael, CA: Edutopia. schools-rigor. (Retrieved April 30, 2012.) schools-rigor

22 Resources Used In This Presentation Paulson, N. (December 7, 2008). Best Teaching Practices for Rigor in Learning. a82689/print. (Retrieved April 30, 2012.) a82689/print Virginia Department of Education. College and Career Readiness Web Site. html. (Retrieved May 6, 2012.) html Wagner, T. (October 2008). “Rigor Redefined” in Educational Leadership, Volume 66, Number 22, Pages leadership/oct08/vol66/num22/Rigor-Redefined.aspx. (Retrieved April 30, 2012.) leadership/oct08/vol66/num22/Rigor-Redefined.aspx Williamson, R. & Blackburn, B. R. (2010). 4 Myths About Rigor in the Classroom. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, Inc /4-Myths-About-Rigor-in-the-Classroom. (Retrieved April 30, 2012) /4-Myths-About-Rigor-in-the-Classroom