Instructional Rounds and the Common Core Learning Standards August 7, 2014

Theory of Action If we build instructional leadership through the analysis of data, observation of practice, and increased knowledge about both the instructional core and the Common Core Learning Standards, then we will develop an informed and purposeful school improvement process leading to improved outcomes for all students.

Today’s Learning Targets Participants will be able to… Understand and discuss the Instructional Core and its seven principles. Examine and analyze student and teacher actions associated with the CCLS. Understand the purpose and elements of Problem of Practice as it applies to implementation of CCLS. Work with their facilitator to make an initial plan for a Rounds visit to their district.

Common Core Coalition Teams… Assume that most educators are working, for better or worse, at, or very near, the limit of their existing knowledge and skill. Are based on the Instructional Rounds model and begin with a Problem of Practice connected to the implementation of Common Core in our schools. Are intended as a vehicle for improving our strategies and making us more reflective about our work.

Instructional Core TASK Student Content Teacher Student and teacher interact with the content. The task is central to this interaction. City, Elmore, Fiarman, Teitel ; 2009

Instructional Core Reading: The Last Word Protocol TASK Student Content Teacher City, Elmore, Fiarman, Teitel; 2009

Save the Last Word Text: Instructional Rounds in Education, Ch. 1 Groups of 4 (identify facilitator/timer) Select which of your quotes you would like to share Read passage to group with no commentary Each group member has 1 minute to comment Reader has the last word - 2 minutes to respond Repeat for each participant

Seven Principles of Instructional Core 1. Increases in student learning occur only as a consequence of improvements in the level of content, teacher’s knowledge and skill, and student engagement. TASK Student Content Teacher Page 23 Skill of teacher, complexity of content, or role that student plays in engaging in the instructional process. Policy and administrative suprvision impact student achievement only if they create conditions for the instructional core to improve INSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Seven Principles of Instructional Core 2. If you change any single element of the instructional core, you have to change the other two. TASK Student Content Teacher 2.

Seven Principles of Instructional Core 3. If you can’t see it in the core, it’s not there. TASK Student Content Teacher Wasson white board example

Seven Principles of Instructional Core 4. Task predicts performance. TASK Student Content Teacher Cognitive burden is a result of rigor, teacher design, and student engagement.

Seven Principles of Instructional Core 5. The real accountability system is in the tasks that students are asked to do. TASK Student Content Teacher The medical model assumes something is wrong. So does Instructional Rounds. We know that our students are not being asked to be accountable for CCLS level work. We have promoted learned helplessness for decades.

Seven Principles of Instructional Core 6. We learn to do the work by doing the work, not by telling other people to do the work, not by having done the work sometime in the past, and not by hiring experts who can act as proxies for our knowledge about how to do the work. TASK Student Content Teacher Everyone learns their way through. Not about evaluating teachers, but about learning about the collective instructional practices of the school building.

Seven Principles of Instructional Core 7. Description before analysis, analysis before prediction, prediction before evaluation. TASK Student Content Teacher

The Problem of Practice The problem of practice is something that you care about that would make a difference for student learning if you improved it. The more specific the problem of practice is, the more helpful the recommendations for the next level of work will be. Ancillary sheet, p. 100-108 please read

Problem of Practice: Purposes Set a common frame of reference for site visits Anchor Rounds in work that advances the school’s and the district’s improvement strategy Build diagnostic capacity of teachers and administrators Model continuous improvement

Problem of Practice Characteristics The Problem of Practice focuses on the instructional core. The Problem of Practice is directly observable. The Problem of Practice is actionable. The Problem of Practice connects to a broader strategy. The Problem of Practice is high leverage. Ancillary sheet

Problem of Practice: Non-Examples Compliance language Global Terms that have not been defined by prior work Structural, physical things not connected directly to the Instructional Core Xyz curriculum, engagement challenging, Are students working in groups or is the objective on the board?

Task determines engagement… and engagement determines performance Problem of Practice Task determines engagement… and engagement determines performance TASK Student Content Teacher

Which blob best represents you? Welcome to Common Core! Which blob best represents you?

Instructional Core Discuss Shifts as they connect to the central task Shift Task Student Content Teacher Discuss Shifts as they connect to the central task City, Elmore, Fiarman, Teitel ; 2009

The Shifts as Principles of Task Design What will students PRACTICE today? How can I DESIGN a TASK that supports that practice?

ELA/Literacy Shifts Reflection Which ELA/Literacy Shift catches your eye as a possible Problem of Practice for your school?

ELA/Literacy Shift 1: Balancing Informational and Literacy Text What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… Balance informational & literary text Scaffold for informational texts Teach “through” and “with” informational texts Build content knowledge Exposure to the world through reading Apply strategies EngageNY

ELA/Literacy Shift 2: 6-12 Knowledge in the Disciplines What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… Build content knowledge through text Handle primary source documents Find Evidence Shift identity: “I teach reading.” Stop referring and summarizing and start reading Slow down the history and science classroom EngageNY

ELA/Literacy Shift 3: Staircase of Complexity What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… Re-read Read material at own level to enjoy reading tolerate frustration more complex texts at every grade level Give students less to read, let them re-read More time on more complex texts Provide scaffolding & strategies Engage with texts w/ other adults EngageNY

ELA/Literacy Shift 4: Text Based Answers What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… find evidence to support their arguments Form own judgments and become scholars Conducting reading as a close reading of the text engage with the author and his/her choices Facilitate evidence based conversations about text Plan and conduct rich conversations Keep students in the text Identify questions that are text-dependent, worth asking/exploring, deliver richly Spend much more time preparing for instruction by reading deeply. EngageNY

ELA/Literacy Shift 5: Writing from Sources What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… generate informational texts Make arguments using evidence Organize for persuasion Compare multiple sources Spending much less time on personal narratives Present opportunities to write from multiple sources Give opportunities to analyze, synthesize ideas. Develop students’ voice so that they can argue a point with evidence Give permission to reach and articulate their own conclusions about what they read EngageNY

ELA/Literacy Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… Use high octane words across content areas Build “language of power” database Develop students’ ability to use and access words Be strategic about the new vocab words Work with words students will use frequently Teach fewer words more deeply EngageNY

Mathematics Shifts Reflection Which Mathematics Shift catches your eye as a possible Problem of Practice for your school?

Mathematics Shift 1: Focus What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… Spend more time on fewer concepts excise content from the curriculum Focus instructional time on priority concepts Give student the gift of time EngageNY

Mathematics Shift 2: Coherence What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… Build on knowledge from year to year, in a coherent learning progression Connect the threads of math focus areas across grade levels Connect to the way content was taught the year before and the years after Focus on priority progressions EngageNY

Mathematics Shift 3: Fluency What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… Spend time practicing, with intensity, skills (in high volume) Push student to know basic skills at a greater level of fluency Focus on the listed fluencies by grade level Uses high quality problem sets, in high volume EngageNY

Mathematics Shift 4: Deep Understanding What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… Show mastery of material at a deep level Articulate mathematical reasoning demonstrate deep conceptual understanding of priority concepts Create opportunities for students to understand the “answer” from a variety of access points Ensure that EVERY student GETS IT before moving on Get smarter in concepts being taught EngageNY

Mathematics Shift 5: Application What the Students Does… What the Teacher Does… Apply math in other content areas and situations, as relevant Choose the right math concept to solve a problem when not necessarily prompted to do so Apply math including areas where its not directly required (i.e. in science) Provide students with real world experiences and opportunities to apply what they have learned EngageNY

Mathematics Shift 6: Dual Intensity What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… Practice math skills with an intensity that results in fluency Practice math concepts with an intensity that forces application in novel situations Find the dual intensity between understanding and practice within different periods or different units Be ambitious in demands for fluency and practice, as well as the range of application EngageNY

Task Predicts Performance Instructional Core Task Predicts Performance

Common Core Measures… AUTONOMY

You Do We Do I Do Who bears the cognitive weight?

ELA CCLS Core Instructional Actions Text Questioning Engagement Foundational Skills (K-2) Student Achievement Partners

MATH CCLS Core Instructional Actions Reflects the Shifts Instructional practices that allow for mastery Exhibition of mathematical practices Back to ancillary sheet Student Achievement Partners

CCLS Core Instructional Actions Review the material provided on the CCLS Core Instructional Actions. Summarize your learnings and reflections on the T chart provided. At your table, share your analyses with a partner. TASK Student Content Teacher

Core Instructional Practices Reflection Which of the Core Instructional Actions catches your eye as a possible Problem of Practice for your school?

Instructional Core City, Elmore, Fiarman, Teitel ; 2009 CCLS Core TASK Student Content Teacher City, Elmore, Fiarman, Teitel ; 2009

Problem of Practice The quality of the Problem of Practice determines the quality of the site visit.

Model Problem of Practice for Common Core Forty percent of our students this past year were unsuccessful on the NYS Common Core assessments. They did especially poorly on the constructed response questions, both in ELA and Math. We may not be designing text based writing instruction that provides our students with enough access to constructed response questions, particularly tasks that require autonomy. p. 103

Opportunity for Practice At your table, craft a Problem of Practice dealing Common Core implementation

Carousel Activity Transfer your Common Core based Problem of Practice to chart paper and post it on the wall. At the signal, move around the room clockwise, reading other groups’ Common Core based Problem of Practice. Return to your table and edit your Common Core based Problem of Practice as needed. Reflect on the body of work represented in the ballroom with your colleagues.

The Goal of the Pre-Rounds Host School Meeting The goals for the visit include making sure that the host school understands that the Learning Walks are about: Network Professional Development School Learning Large Scale Student Improvement Not about evaluating teachers or judging the school Exhibit 2.1 ancillary materials

Site Visit Norms CONFIDENTIALITY: No ID of schools or individuals. All data stays within the group. COLLEGIALITY: All teachers chosen are willing to participate. Model respect and candor; avoid the land of “nice-nice”. RESPECT FOR SCHOOLS’ REQUESTS: Principal’s guidance and requests. Data – insights, observations, analyses – not a scrap leaves the building

Pre-Rounds Host School Meeting Involve the faculty from the very beginning Tour the facility Reassure school staff Develop a classroom visit schedule Ancillary materials

Generic Site Visit Schedule 8:00-9:15 Welcome, focus on the POP, and related professional development 9:15-10:45 Classroom visits 10:45-12:30 Debrief 12:30-1:15 Lunch 1:15-4:00 Next level of work Generic schedule for the day City, Elmore, Fiarman, Teitel ; 2014, p.200

De-briefing and Next Level of Work What did you learn? How does that affect your role? How does that affect your practice and planning? How will you provide access of these learnings to your staff so that they may be successful? Describe, analyze, predict, evaluate

Regional Network Team Meetings Please touch base with your team and facilitator(s) regarding next steps with your regional BOCES Network Team.

Process – Instructional Rounds Context- School based Androgogy Content- Common Core Process – Instructional Rounds Context- School based

Remember the Instructional Core Task CCLS Student Content Teacher Description, analysis, prediction, evaluation City, Elmore, Fiarman, Teitel ; 2009

What was your most salient learning of the day? Reflections What was your most salient learning of the day?

Theory of Action If we build instructional leadership through the analysis of data, observation of practice, and increased knowledge about both the instructional core and the Common Core Learning Standards, then we will develop an informed and purposeful school improvement process that will lead to improved outcomes for all students.

Resources Instructional Rounds in Education: A Network Approach to Improving Teaching and Learning. Elizabeth A. City, Richard F. Elmore, & Lee Teitel. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2014. Leading Instructional Rounds in Education: A Facilitator’s Guide. Thomas Fowler-Finn. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2013. https://www.engageny.org https://www.engageny.org/resource/tools-to- guide-the-collection-of-evidence-of-shifts-in- practice

Questions Lhedges@herkimer-boces.org