1. Student Work Products by Quadrant
PG page 29
Student Work Products
by Quadrant
(Participant Guide pg. 21)
Student Work Products by Quadrant
Time: 1 minute
You can find this useful list of products correlated by quadrant to the Rigor/Relevance Framework on Participant Guide page 29. In addition to changing the verb or action of a lesson, you may vary the product or the response that you expect students to create. Remember that Quadrant B is higher in relevance than Quadrant A is, and Quadrant C is higher in rigor than Quadrants A and B. Quadrant D is high in both rigor and relevance.
Changing the product can change the quadrant. For example, if I originally had students completing a workbook page on leaf identification, I could change that to having them make a collage of actual leaves. Do you see how that raises both the rigor and the relevance of the activity? The revised activity better aligns with the expectations set by the Next Generation Assessments. Assessment items require student work focused on higher rigor and relevance.
TM & © Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. 04/23/10

2. Verb List by Quadrant PG page 27 (Participant Guide pg. 19)
Time: 1 minute
To help teachers develop lessons that improve rigor and relevance, we have created a list of verbs that fit each quadrant of the Rigor/Relevance Framework. This slide shows some of those verbs. The list is included on Participant Guide page 27.
By changing the verb, or action required by an activity, you can often increase its rigor or relevance.
For example, let’s look at a matching activity for third graders: Match the words that are synonyms. In which quadrant do you find the word match? (Answer: Quadrant A) Right; matching is an activity with low rigor and low relevance. However, by adjusting the verb, I can increase the rigor. For example: Generate a list of synonyms for X. In which quadrant do you find the word generate? (Answer: Quadrant C) Right; generating has higher rigor than matching does. Why? (Possible answer: Students have to come up with the synonyms on their own, rather than simply matching synonyms that are provided to them.)
TM & © Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. 04/23/10

3. Teacher Question Stems by Quadrant
PG page 30
Teacher Question Stems by Quadrant
(Participant Guide pg. 22) C
How are these similar/different?
How is this like…?
What’s another way we could say/explain/express that?
What do you think are some reasons/causes that…?
Why did…..changes occur?
What is a better solution to…?
How would you defend your position about that? A
What is/are…?
How many…?
How do/does…?
What did you observe…?
What else can you tell me about…?
What does it mean…?
What can you recall…?
Where did you find that…?
Who is/are…?
How would you define that in your own terms? D
How would you design a…to …?
How would you compose a song about…?
How would you rewrite the ending to the story?
What would be different today, if that event occurred as…?
Can you see a possible solution to…?
How could you teach that to others?
If you had access to all the resources, how would you deal with…?
What new and unusual used would you create for…? B
Would you do that?
Where will you use that knowledge?
How does that relate to your experience?
What observations relate to…?
Where would you locate that information?
How would you illustrate that?
How would you interpret that?
How would you collect that data?
How do you know it works?
Teacher Question Stems by Quadrant
Time: 1 minute
Open-ended questions help students think and make lessons more rigorous. The teacher question stems on this slide are from a longer list on Participant Guide page 30. Again, these stems are arranged according to the four quadrants of the Rigor/Relevance Framework. The least rigorous and relevant questions are in the lower left quadrant, Quadrant A. Those that are the most rigorous and relevant are in the top right quadrant, Quadrant D.
These question stems help raise rigor and relevance and challenge students to think more critically. When visiting classrooms, you can listen for question stems in the various quadrants. If you hear a majority of the question stems located in Quadrant A, you may share this list with teachers and encourage them to implement different stems in a nonthreatening way. Let’s take a look at a few samples.
TM & © Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. 04/23/10

4. C D A B Instructional Strategies by Quadrant
(Similar to Participant Guide pg. 16)
Similarities / differences
Compare / contrast
Metaphors / analogies
Analyzing perspectives
Cause / effect
Brainstorming
Inquiry
Literature
Research
Writing prompts
Presentation / exhibition
Project-based learning
Investigation
Invention
Experimental inquiry
Decision making
Abstracting
Work-based learning
Writing
Socratic seminar C D
Inclusion of
a strategy in a
particular Quadrant is flexible, not absolute. It
indicates that
the strategy
would be most
effective in
supporting the level of student
learning associated
with that quadrant.
Lecture
Demonstration
Mnemonic devices
Guided practice
Games
Recognition / rewards
Summarizing
Advance organizers
Graphic organizers
Collaborative pairs
Problem-based learning
Review / re-teaching
Physical response
Instructional technology
Internship
Cooperative learning
Community service
Role play / simulation A B

5. Making Rigor and Relevance Part of Every Day
Three Questions to Ask:
Two Actions to Take:
Which quadrant does your lesson plan reflect?
Which quadrant did student performance reflect when you delivered the lesson?
How do you know and what will you do as a result?
End all lessons at higher rigor levels (analysis, synthesis, evaluation).
Make certain students act upon or apply relevance in lessons frequently.
Making Rigor and Relevance Part of Every Day
Time: 1 minute
Now that you have had a chance to practice writing different questions/tasks, here are actions to take to make rigor and relevance part of every day. The idea is to ask yourself as you prepare lessons: Which quadrant am I working in? How does that affect learning?
You can take action to make rigor and relevance a part of every day. End lessons at higher rigor levels by asking a high-rigor question using an exit ticket, think- pair-share, or graphic organizer. What other strategies can you use at the end of a lesson that would take three to five minutes? Allow participants to give a few ideas.
You can also have students make the learning relevant. An exit ticket could address both of these actions when your prompt has students process the information and make it their own. You can also integrate processing opportunities every ten minutes like I modeled today.
I hope that the learning we’ve done today helps you begin to think differently about your instruction and the ways in which you interact with students.
TM ® & © International Center for Leadership in Education Inc. All rights reserved. 2/1/2013

6. Characteristics of a Performance Task
Consider the following when evaluating a Performance Task:
Essential: Measuring a key concept or skill (standards based)
Valid: Effectively measuring multiple standards
Authentic: Connecting learning to the world outside of school
Integrative: Synthesizing different aspects of learning
Engaging: Keeping ALL students involved
Structured: Giving clear, concise directions and understandable outcomes
Equitable: Allowing for different learning styles
Scorable: Using a teacher-created rubric
Rigorous: Demanding higher-order thinking skills

7. Steps in Developing a Performance Task
Determine a Focus
Choose a standard
Determine evidence of learning
Step 2
Create a Context
Develop a background scenario
Choose significant question or important problem
Step 3
Write the Directions
Write what students are to do
Describe the product or performance students are expected to develop
Step 4
Processing of Content
Decide on an audience
Develop a scoring guide

8. Lots of
Questions…

9. How does this apply to me? Where do I fit in?
Schools and districts that have successfully gone down
the path of transforming learning and teaching have
learned that we cannot meet the challenges of bringing
all students to higher levels of achievement unless every
teacher and staff member lifts together.
Professional development and coaching will focus on
providing everyone with the examples, the time, and
the help they need to play their important part.

10. Where do I get the time to teach more rigorous and relevant lessons?
First, this effort to transform learning and teaching in every
CDSD classroom is a marathon, not a sprint. Successful
schools and districts have committed themselves to a steady,
gradual process of learning and implementing together.
Not every lesson is a ‘Quadrant D’ lesson. Critical ‘Quadrant A’
building block new knowledge and skills are always being
introduced and supported as students extend their
understanding.

11. Where do I get the time to teach more rigorous
and relevant lessons? (continued)
Together we will all learn to think about questions like, ‘Which
quadrant does my lesson plan reflect?’ ‘Which quadrant did
student performance reflect when I taught the lesson?’
“How do I know and what will I do as a result?’
Another step toward more rigorous and relevant learning
and teaching is to end all lessons at higher levels of rigor
(analysis, synthesis, evaluation), and to apply some simple
strategies to make every lesson more relevant to all students.

12. Where do I get the time to teach more rigorous
and relevant lessons? (continued)
Another lesson we can learn from other schools and districts
that have transformed learning and teaching is the old adage
‘form follows function.’ They have adjusted the way they do
things, how they use time and resources, so they can support
teachers as they work to meet their new goals.
This is all part of transforming what we do by everyone ‘getting
on the same page.’

13. Self-Reflection What will you do to help make
this three-year effort successful?
What are steps you will take to help transform learning and teaching in your school?

14. conform vs. transform

15. Transforming Learning and Teaching
From a Traditional Approach
To a Transformed Approach
“Deliver" Instruction
Teacher centered
Classroom learning
Standardized approach
Learn to do
Content focused
Looking for the right answer
Teaching segmented curriculum
Passive learning opportunities
“Facilitate” Learning
Student centered
Learning anytime / anywhere
Personalized, differentiated
Do to learn
Application focused
Develop thinking
Integrating curriculum
Active learning opportunities

16. Transforming Instructional Leadership
From a Traditional Approach
To a Transformed Approach
Position (principal)
Manage the current system
Use experience to solve problems
Replicate practices with fidelity
Look to supervisors for answers
Rely on individual expertise
Authority
A shared team dis-position
Change the system
Learn new ways to adapt / change
Choose practices for learner needs
Empower staff to take action
Share each other’s expertise
Collaboration

17. Transforming Organizational Leadership
From a Traditional Approach
To a Transformed Approach
Vision set by top leadership
Priorities based on short-term results
Rigid structures to accommodate adult needs
Top down management for ease of administration
Teachers are object of change
Manage the system effectively and efficiently
Vision set through collaboration
Priorities based on long-term improvement
Flexible structures to support learner needs
Top down support for bottom-up change
Teachers are agents of change
Reinvent the system to support powerful learning and teaching