Session 1: The Scaffolded Inquiry Project September 2008

2 Today’s Agenda 1.Welcome 2.Contextualizing the Scaffolded Inquiry Project 3.Break 4.Module 1: Learning challenge variable maps 5.Module 2: Research-based abstracts 6.Module 3: Additional resources for designing a change strategy 7.Debrief: Integration into your team process 8.Evaluation

3 Contextualizing The Scaffolded Inquiry Project Setting the context— >Chancellor's Priorities and School-based Inquiry > Listening to the Field and Looking Forward > Integrating the New Tools > Objectives for Professional Development

4 Inquiry and the Three Pillars Leadership: Building capacity within the Inquiry Team and throughout the school >Develop principal distributed leadership. >Provide teacher leadership opportunities through Inquiry Team work. >Support school leaders to look at data to determine student needs and identify strategies. Empowerment: Building confidence and ownership >Experience of success with small group of struggling students allows schools to deepen and expand the work. >Focus of work is customized at the school level. >Energize educators throughout the city to be continuous learners. Accountability: Highlighting the responsibility for learning of every student in the school >Focus on lowest performing students. >Create accountability for closing the achievement gap at multiple levels: individual, team, and school.

5 Design tools & Organize Data Implement Tools & Build Understanding Building & Implementing Preparing the System: Children First Intensive ‘07-’08 Children First Intensive was created to infuse data-informed instructional decision-making throughout New York City schools by engaging educators around the new accountability tools. In 2007, the New York City Department of Education implemented Inquiry Teams in every school as a core component of its school improvement strategy. Changing the culture

6 Design tools & Organize Data Implement Tools & Build Understanding Facilitate Knowledge Sharing & Collaboration Theory of Change Looking Forward: ’08-’09 Priorities Build capacity, confidence of teachers and principals Increase teacher empowerment & engagement Ensure educators are accountable for success Sustaining & Enhancing Building & Implementing Embedding & Sustaining Chancellor’s Priorities Embed and sustain the reforms through:  Inquiry Teams  Knowledge Management  ARIS Target State: Continuous, Citywide Data- Informed Improvement

7 Listening to the Field: Educator Needs Through CFI surveys, the Inquiry Team Interface, SAFs, and SSO support staff, we heard inquiry teams needed more support. Teams: >needed help identifying the next steps after determining learning challenges for their target populations >were challenged with finding time to research instructionally targeted responses >struggled to come up with instructional strategies that were different from ones they had tried before >worked to develop strategies for their students, but remained concerned that the practices implemented sometimes did not adequately address the students’ needs >were challenged when trying to adopt practices for specific students populations

8 The Scaffolded Inquiry Project  American Institutes for Research (AIR) was awarded a competitive contract to design a set of tools to help Inquiry Team members and other educators select research-based instructional strategies for their struggling students.  The Steering Committee consisted of SAFs, SSO Design Team staff, CFI, KM, and subject specific content experts from Teaching & Learning and the Office of Accountability.  The Tools created:  Variable maps  Research-based abstracts  Additional resources for Inquiry Teams  Professional Development materials

9 Integration in the CFI Process Phase I: Identify Students and Targets Step 1: Define a school-wide focus. Step 2: Define a target population. Step 3: Define a long-term goal. Step 4: Define learning targets and short-term goals. Phase II: Move the Students Step 5: Analyze target population conditions of learning. Step 6: Design and implement an instructional change strategy. Step 7: Evaluate and revise based on interim progress measures. Phase III: Move the System Step 8: Analyze school-level systems that produce conditions of learning. Step 9: Design and implement a system-level change strategy. Step 10: Evaluate and revise based on interim progress measures. American Institutes for Research (AIR) has focused on Step 6 of the inquiry cycle.

10 Professional Development Objectives Introductory Session: Learn how to access and utilize the technology platform:  Learning challenge variable maps to guide educators’ thinking around instructional approaches  Research-based abstracts to support the identified variables  Additional resources to support Inquiry Teams Train-the-Trainer Session: Plan and practice training techniques for sharing the Scaffolded Inquiry Process with school-based teams Develop turn-key options for delivery

11 Our Purpose Support the work of Inquiry Teams in NYC as they design a change strategy by:  Providing high quality variable maps around particular learning challenges, research abstracts, and additional resources that can help Inquiry Teams design a change strategy.  Supporting the SAFs and SSO staff to integrate research into their work with school-based Inquiry Teams.  Supporting the launch of these tools with professional development materials for SAFs and SSO staff.

12 Designing a Change Strategy Phase I: Identify Students and Targets Step 1: Define a school-wide focus. Step 2: Define a target population. Step 3: Define a long-term goal. Step 4: Define learning targets and short-term goals. Phase II: Move the Students Step 5: Analyze target population conditions of learning. Step 6: Design and implement an instructional change strategy. Step 7: Evaluate and revise based on interim progress measures. Phase III: Move the System Step 8: Analyze school-level systems that produce conditions of learning. Step 9: Design and implement a system-level change strategy. Step 10: Evaluate and revise based on interim progress measures. American Institutes for Research (AIR) has focused on Step 6 of the inquiry cycle.

13 Scope of the Scaffolded Inquiry Project The tools consists of:  16 variable maps developed for ELA and Mathematics  400 research-based abstracts  12 additional resources for designing a change strategy  Professional development materials

14 Welcome to the Scaffolded Inquiry Project Web site

15 Session 1: Outline of Binder Materials Manuals contain:  All slides and narration  Outline  Intro and three modules  Sample abstracts  All additional resources

Session 1: The Scaffolded Inquiry Project September 2008 BREAK

17 Module 1: Learning Challenge Variable Maps

18 Variable Maps Discussion: Your team has identified a learning challenge – what next?

19 Variable Maps  Bridge the inquiry work from considering conditions of learning to exploring the research.  Present variables that surround commonly identified skill gaps.  Prompt educators’ thinking about the range of variables that impact student achievement.  Organize sets of research-based strategies into factors that impact skill gaps.

20 Tab Displaying Learning Challenges

21 Exploring a Variable Map

22 Classroom-Level Variables  Instructional practices for content knowledge, study skills, and student engagement Research-based strategies to address  specific knowledge and skills related to the content of the learning challenge  students’ engagement, interest, and interactions with teachers  Classroom instructional environment Research-based materials and routines that can support the change strategy

23 School Organization and Culture Variables  School organizational environment Research-based organizational structures and decisions that can support student learning  School-level curricular and assessment resources Research-based resources that can be leveraged to support the change strategy  Culture of professional learning Cultural habits and practices that can support collaboration and learning

24 Search Results Hover with your mouse over the name of a strategy to open up a window with further details about the strategy. Click on the name of a strategy to access the full abstract.

25 ACTIVITY: Variable Maps Explore the variable maps:  Choose a learning challenge (ELA).  Explore the variables in classroom and school levels.  Identify variables to search (click to select, then click Submit).  Browse the abstracts titles that are returned. Reflect:  Do these variables reflect some of the conditions of learning faced by your Inquiry Teams? Why or why not?

26 Module 2: Research-based Abstracts

27 Abstracts  Bridge the variable maps to actual implementation strategies.  Represent a careful literature review on each learning challenge.  Describe research-based instructional or organizational strategies.  Summarize one or more studies.  Point to additional related research.  Include sample activities as examples.

28 Developing the Abstracts  Team of ten researchers reviewed literature and wrote abstracts.  Focused on original quantitative and qualitative studies, literature reviews and meta-analyses.  Included published research only.  Published in the last 30 years (no earlier than 1978).  Remember: abstracts represent a strong beginning, but Teams must explore research on their own as well.

29 Sample Abstract Each abstract presents:  Title of Strategy  Why is This Strategy Useful?  Description  Research Evidence  Sample Studies  Sample Activities  Additional Resources

30 Refining Search Results

31 Activity: Finding Abstracts Explore the abstracts:  Choose a learning challenge.  Search variables for abstracts.  Filter the findings in various ways.  Browse the abstracts that are returned. Reflect:  How might you work with your networks to introduce these abstracts to your teams?

32 Module 3: Additional Resources

33 Accessing Additional Resources

34 Consider Conditions of Learning Use this resource to:  Guide discussion on the what, how, how well, and who of the conditions  Brainstorm means for Collecting Data  Plan for analysis of the data – What to Look For

35 Explore the Research Base Use this resource to:  Demonstrate how the research abstracts are structured  Guide comprehension and questioning of the abstracts  Find linked tools and understand their alignment Other resources include:  Using the Variable Maps  Variable Map Legend  Understanding Types of Research  Finding Research on Your Own

36 Evaluate Strategies Use one of these 3 resource options to:  Guide discussion  Check the “fit” of the strategy  Determine which modifications may be necessary  Make decisions about implementation  Consider impacts on school change

37 Generate Hypotheses and a Change Strategy Use this resource to:  Document team decisions  Articulate rationale and assumptions  Put it all together into a change strategy

38 Plan for Implementation Use this resource to:  Consider the many elements to implementation  Plan for coordinated activities  Document team decisions Other resource include:  Implementation Check-up

39 Debrief: Integration Into Your Team Process