1. Effective Schools Summit September 2016

2. Welcome and Introductions Agenda Housekeeping Tasks
Emily – This session evolved from your requests, so we added this meeting in your area.
Restrooms and other meeting rooms

3. PLU Information
Phase I: Content and Knowledge (Required: Attend one September, January, and May session- See attached schedule for locations)
_______Fall Meeting Dates: September 27-29, 2016
_______Winter Meeting Dates: January 24-26, 2017
_______Spring Meeting Dates: May 2-4, 2017
Phase II: Implementation (Required)
_______ Complete and Submit Goal Action Plan and Progress Notes (May 10, 2017)
Phase III: Evaluation/Reflection (Complete ALL activities)
_______ Complete Reflection and Next Steps after EACH session (3)
_______Complete PLU Evaluation at May Meeting
Handout

4. Agenda Review the Outcomes from Session 1
Focus Area: Principle 4 – Use of Data
Data Sources and the Improvement Cycle
Goal Action Planning
Focus Area: Principle 3 – Effective Instruction
The participants will…

5. Data and the Improvement Cycle
At our summit in June, we discussed sources of data that are available and how they can be used in developing goals and selecting strategies for implementation. Cue Scott.

6. The Improvement Cycle How will we evaluate our effectiveness?
Where are we now?
(Analyze Data)
Where do we want to be?
(Set Goals)
How will we get there?
(Plan)
How will we monitor our progress?
(Implement)
How will we evaluate our effectiveness?
(Evaluate)
The
Improvement
Cycle

7. Multiple Measures of Data
Learners & Parents
Support Systems
Education Professionals
Schools & Systems
Student Achievement
Learning Gains
Achievement Gaps
College & Career Readiness
Demographics
Perception
Family Engagement
Graduation Rate
Drop Out Rate
Attendance
Discipline
Intervention
Enrichment
Guidance & Counseling
Health & Well-Being
Teacher Attendance
Administrator & Teacher Effectiveness
Recruitment & Retention
Culture & Climate
Community Engagement
Professional Development
Continuous Improvement Plan
School Finance

8. Questions for Consideration
Does the district/school have a comprehensive and structured process for the use of data to guide improvement efforts?
Does the district/school have a data leadership team in place?
Is data used to identify and prioritize needs?
Do school leaders and teachers have instant access to a range of data to inform the improvement effort?
Does the district/school provide professional development for the effective use of data?

9. Using Goal Action Planning for Continuous School Improvement
In June we also talked about prioritizing our focus areas and developing goals to address those “big rocks.” Cue Melissa.

10. Why Use Goal Action Planning?
Help with transition to e-prove
Focus on 3 “big rocks”
Allows school and district officials to prioritize actions to implement for improvement

11. Evidence of Implementation
Data should be collected on the practices of the adults, not just on student performance (cause/effect).
How will we know if the instructional strategies and action steps are being implemented effectively and appropriately?
What data should we collect?
How often?
How do we report this data back to the staff?
Collect data on adult implementation indicators as well as student performance indicators

12. Progress Monitoring Monitor the implementation of strategies
Evaluate the impact of the strategies on student learning
Provide feedback to staff on the implemented strategies and the impact on student learning
Assess the effectiveness of professional development supports
Progress monitoring allows the team to
Add statistic or as part of discussion – information from Angie on Feedback to Teachers and Walkthroughs

13. Goal Action Planning enhances your CIP process
Goal Action Planning enhances your CIP process. It is not something you do in addition to your CIP.

14. Break

15. Leadership for Effective Instruction

16. What is Effective Instruction?
Write down characteristics of effective instruction. What would you see in a classroom engaged with effective instruction?

17. Principle Three
Effective Instruction: Ensure that teachers utilize evidence-based, rigorous, and high-impact strategies to meet the needs of all students and aligned with state standards.
For our time together today, we are going to look at Principle 3 –We will talk about the characteristics of effective instruction and what it looks like in the classroom.

18. Effective Instruction
Rigor
High Impact
Evidence-Based
Strategies
The three components of effective instruction.

19. Rigorous Strategies

20. RIGOR
Rigor is creating an environment in which each student is expected to learn at high levels, each student is supported so he or she can learn at high levels, and each student demonstrates learning at high levels. (Blackburn, 2008)
5 minutes
So, we have talked about why we believe rigor is important. In Alabama we have standards and assessments that are rigorous. We agree that we want more rigorous instruction. Now lets look at what Rigor means. There are a lot of definitions of rigor out there. Let’s look at one of those definitions from Barbara Blackburn in her book Rigor Made Easy.
Handout #1:
Ask participants to read the definition and note words and phrases that resonate with them. After about a minute have participants discuss with a table partner.
Drop in and listen to discussion. Bring these points out at the end of the discussions.
This definition has 3 main parts:
Creating an environment where each student is expected to learn at high levels,
each student is supported so he or she can learn at high levels,
and each student demonstrates learning at high levels
This tri-fold definition is not limited to the curriculum students are expected to learn. It is more than a specific lesson or instructional strategy. It is deeper than what a student says or does in response to a lesson. True rigor is the result of weaving together all of these elements to raise students to higher levels of learning.

22. RIGOR Requires Students to…
Make Meaning for Themselves
Impose Structures on Information
Take Individual Skills and Put Them Together to Create a Process
Apply What They Have Learned in New and Novel Structures
How does this fit into the definition of Effective Instruction you developed?
Less than 6% of observed lessons were devoted to the highest level of cognitively complex tasks involving hypothesis generation and testing.
The data indicate that most teachers are placing a significant majority of their classroom emphasis (58%) on teaching new content.

23. Is this a rigorous task?
Read Washington's Farewell Address. What is his advice on alliances with foreign nations? What reasons did he give for this position?
Let’s look at some example from classrooms. Is this task rigorous or not? How do you know?

24. Is this a rigorous task?
Farmer Jones collected eggs from the henhouse every morning. On Monday, he collected 312 eggs. On Tuesday, he collected 15 more eggs than he did on Monday. On Wednesday, he collected 27 fewer eggs than he did on Tuesday. How many eggs did he collect in the three days? Show your work and explain your reasoning.
Is this task rigorous or not? How do you know?

25. Is this a rigorous task?
Is this task rigorous or not? How do you know?

26. Is this a rigorous task?
Write your own fable with the moral "Gratitude is the sign of noble souls."
Is this task rigorous or not? How do you know?

27. Why is RIGOR important? Rigor fosters persistence.
Rigor fosters resilience.
Rigor fosters flexibility.
Rigor fosters purposefulness.
Rigors fosters metacognition.
Rigor fosters ownership.
2 minutes
According to Robyn Jackson, How to Plan Rigorous Instruction, these are a few reasons to pursue rigorous instruction for you and your students:
Persistence: When students must dig for the answers, they discover the value of the search.
Resilience: When students learn to engage in rigorous thinking and inquiry, they learn how to manage and work through frustration to solve problems on their own.
Flexibility: Rigorous instruction helps students grasp that learning is messy and unpredictable.
Purposefulness: Students come to see that they are learning in order to make meaning, to broaden their own understanding, and to solve interesting problems.
Metacognition: Rigorous instruction asks students to think about their learning goals, select appropriate strategies for pursuing those goals, and reflect on them.
Ownership: When students must make meaning for themselves, they come to own what they have learned.

28. Myths about RIGOR Lots of homework is a sign of rigor.
Rigor means doing more.
Rigor is not for everyone.
Providing support means lessening rigor.
15 minutes
There is a lot of uncertainty over the meaning of rigor in education which has led to a number of misconceptions about RIGOR. Blackburn identified the following myths. Read myths.
Handout #2: Modified Jigsaw
Ask participants to quickly group themselves into groups of 4 and number off 1,2,3,4. Participants will read the myth that corresponds with their number and be prepared to share key points with the other 3 members of the group. Handout #2 has a note taking tool that can be used during the activity.
Rules during reading/sharing: Take about 2 minutes to read and jot notes about your section, each member then has 1 minute to share main points about their myth (you might want to ask them to identify a timekeeper for this portion)
After each team member has quickly shared the main points of his/her myth ask participants to discuss the questions at the bottom of the handout:
Which myth about rigor resonates with you?
Do any of your teachers believe in these myths?
How can you counteract the myths?
If time allows…Ask the groups to discuss the following question as well: What MYTHS would you add?
Say: As we learned while discussing the definition of RIGOR, rigorous lessons are not about these myths. They are about opportunities for taking students more deeply into your subject or content and giving them the tools they need to learn how to learn for themselves.

29. RIGOR made EASY Engages all students Accommodates all learners
Scaffolds learning
Yields results
2 minutes
The previous slide give us a lot of information about what we should see in classrooms where rigorous instruction is going on. Blackburn has simplified this for us a little with her acronym EASY. In general in classrooms where there is rigorous instruction and learning going on…
All students are engaged
All learners are accommodated for
Learning is scaffolded when needed
And student results are visible
Share bookmark that each participant will receive as a reminder of what to look for in schools.

30. Strategies to Increase RIGOR - Teachers
Raise the Level of Content
Increase Complexity
Give Appropriate Support and Guidance
Open Your Focus
Raise Expectations
Note: All of this should be done through collaborative planning.
9 minutes
Let’s take a quick look at some classroom strategies to increase RIGOR.
Read the following phrases that go with each of the strategies. Note for Facilitators: Each of the bullets is the title of a chapter in Blackburn’s book Rigor Made Easy.
Raise the Level of Content: CCRS; selecting appropriate texts; multiple sources of information; depth, not coverage
Increase Complexity: Digging Deeper; Quality Questions; Ratchet up Reviews; Take it up a Notch
Give Appropriate Support and Guidance: Modeling; Gradual Release; Working with Struggling Learners; Extra Help and Support
Open Your Focus: Begin with Discovery; Choices; Perspectives; Connections
Raise Expectations: Student Motivation; Beliefs and Actions; Ensuring RIGOR for EACH student; Celebrating Progress
Handout # 3:
Ask participants to discuss these strategies answering the following question:
Which of these strategies are strong in your classrooms and how do you know?
Which of these strategies would you like to work on and why?
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR FACILITATORS: It is not important that you all of the details about each of these strategies at this point. The purpose of this activity is to allow participants to discuss what they think each means and looks like in their school, determine strengths, and identify strategies that they want to know more about and work on. This will help us know which of these to focus on in the next CCRS meeting.

31. Strategies for Increasing RIGOR - Leaders
C Create Positive & Supportive Climate
O Ownership and shared Vision
M Managing Data
P Professional Development
A Advocacy
S Shared Accountability
S Support Structures
Williamson, R., & Blackburn, B. (2012). School Leadership Strategies for Classroom Rigor. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.
10 minutes
In your content sessions today you will discuss rigorous learning materials and rigorous instructional strategies more specifically.
Barbara Blackburn and Ronald Williamson have come up with a useful metaphor for understanding ways that leaders can positively impact rigor in schools. The metaphor is a compass. A compass provides direction and guidance. It can help you find your way when lost and can help you stay on track. Most importantly, a compass always remains on target. It continuously points towards “true” north.
This COMPASS provides the tools needed for the journey to a more rigorous classroom/school.
Handout #5
Use the chart on the handout to jot down notes about what you think each of these really looks like in schools. Work with a partner or as a table to determine this together. If you want more specifics about each of these note the source at the bottom of the slide.
Once you have finished discussing each strategy discuss the questions at the bottom of your handout:
Which strategy or strategies do you feel are strong in your classrooms/school?
What strategy might you work on next or want to know more about?

32. Effective Instruction
Rigor
High Impact
Evidence-Based
Strategies

33. Evidence-Based Strategies
How often do we hear this phrase? And how frequently do we use it in our discussions about school improvement? What EXACTLY are research-based practices?

34. Evidence-based Strategies…
Are those strategies that have a basis in research
Produce positive results
Often include the word “best” to describe relative impact
Should be practices that produce the “best” student results and not just be the practices we are “best” at implementing

35. How do I know if a strategy is “evidence-based?”

36. Effective Instruction
Rigor
High Impact
Evidence-Based
Strategies

37. High-Impact Strategies

38. Questions to Consider
Do some instructional strategies/programs have more impact…
in certain subject areas?
at certain grade levels?
with students from different backgrounds?
with students of different aptitudes?
(Marzano, Classroom Instruction that Works, p. 9)

39. Change focus from “What works?”
KEY QUESTION:
What strategies/programs have the greatest impact and will allow us to maximize the growth of each student?
In Visible Learning, Dr. Hattie looks at a wide range of strategies and structures, but we want to narrow our focus to this key question.
Change focus from “What works?”
to “What works best?”

40. How do you know what works best?

41. Circle strategies you use or are familiar with
Circle strategies you use or are familiar with? Put a star beside the ones you think have a significant impact on student learning.

42. Snapshot of the Handout – Introduce the information on the handout
Snapshot of the Handout – Introduce the information on the handout. Have participants compare their list to this list.

43. Use of Effect Size 1.0 = 3 year gain
>0.40 = student learning accelerates
= students are on track to learn
a year’s worth of academic
material over the course of
one school year
= no effect on student learning
<0.00 = student learning is
negatively effected
Hattie uses a measure called effect size to determine the impact of certain strategies.
His argument is that almost everything (98%) we do as teachers brings about growth in students – very few teaching strategies cause a negative effect. However, not everything produces the same positive result. Some strategies have more impact than others. From Hattie’s research over 30 years, he has found that .40 effect size will bring about a year’s growth in learning.
to discover the most positive impacts on student achievement

44. Evidence-Based Strategies vs High-Impact Strategies

45. Hattie Ranking of Effect Sizes
John Hattie updated his list of 138 effects to 150 effects in Visible Learning for Teachers (2011), and more recently to a list of 195 effects in The Applicability of Visible Learning to Higher Education (2015). His research is now based on nearly 1200 meta-analyses – up from the 800 when Visible Learning came out in 2009.

46. What Works Clearinghouse

47. The best indicators of a teacher’s effectiveness come not from what the teacher does, but from what the students
are able to do.
Guskey, Thomas R.; Jung, Lee Ann ( ). Answers to Essential Questions About Standards, Assessments, Grading, and Reporting .SAGE Publications. Kindle Edition.

48. Effective Instruction
Rigor
High Impact
Evidence-Based
Strategies

49. Let’s Apply What We’ve Learned

50. Team Reflection and Planning Share insights gained during today’s sessions
What are your current practices to support EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION in your schools/districts? (Rigor, Evidence-based, High-impact)
Using the tools you have been provided today, what can you do to advance effective instructional strategies/programs across your schools/districts?
How can you use this information to revisit strategies in your CIP?
What district/SDE supports do you need to increase the use of effective instructional strategies?
Teams can spend time discussing the questions on the slide and completing their reflection handout.

51. Directions:
Please complete the template by reviewing the programs (academic/cultural) that you implement at your school/district. Please submit an electronic copy of the completed form to your Regional Support Coordinator no later than December 1, The electronic form of this template can be
Things to think about for the January Effective Schools Summit:
What is the impact?
Will you keep a program, discontinue the program, why?
Are you targeting the same population too much?
Are you targeting the population with the greatest needs?

52. Contact Information
Emily Freeland – Regions 4 and 7 –
Molly Killingsworth – Regions 8 and
Melissa Shields - Regions 3 and
Catherliene Williamson - Regions 9 and
Karen Winn - Regions 1, 2 and
Shanthia Washington – Director of the Office of Student Learning