As a specialist in Curriculum and Instruction, I often find so much confusion surrounding the concept of "curriculum." Many people seem to think it is the textbooks they use. Others are quite certain it is that rarely used booklet that sits on nearly every teacher's bookshelf called "Scope and Sequence." Here's what your curriculum is-and isn't.
The curriculum for any core curriculum subject or grade is the state standards (and soon, the common core standards). Imagine that! The state actually informs us of what they think students should know and be able to do at specific times during their foray into education. Then the state goes a step further-they create assessments for students based upon what they said students should know and be able to do. From my perspective, it doesn't get much better than that.
On the other hand, if one believes that their curriculum is the math book, covered page by page (snooze), then it is not surprising when state test scores are low. Instruction MUST be aligned to what the state indicates it wants students to know and be able to do. It's really that simple!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
The Myth of Urban Education
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2007), in 2003, central city locations had the greatest percentage of minorities enrolled in public schools (65 percent). By 2004, the percentage of minorities enrolled in District of Columbia city schools was 85%. When educators and "experts" consider urban schools, what are the generalities that are espoused?
I was speaking with an urban principal today and she remarked that we automatically assume that teachers don't want to work in urban schools. Why is that? My perspective is that urban schools are where the greatest growth can be found and where the most exciting teaching and learning can take place. The other side of the coin is that these schools are very large with various and diverse subgroups of students. Urban schools serve far greater percentages of special education students, minorities, students whose native tongue is not English, and there are more students living in poverty.
These are also the excuses we hear and read about as to why urban schools often score lower on state testing instruments than do students in suburban and rural schools. I say "pshaw." How, then, do we explain 90-90-90 schools where 90% of the students are minority and live in poverty and still score in the 90th percentile on state exams? What is the response when we can turn around students from Detroit who scored in the 20s to above 75% in less than three years? How can an urban school in Toledo increase their performance index 11.9 points in one year, yet Arne Duncan thinks it's great that the nation improved its performance index by 2 points?
My experience is that it's not so much about poverty or minority status--low scores are more a function of two things: first, teacher expectations for these students and the affect of those expectations on student achievement, and, the lack of on-site, job-embedded professional development and instructional support for teachers.
We don't need to reinvent the wheel every year. Let's just understand the foundation of the challenges and work towards resolving them. It's not rocket science...just a combination of logic and love.
I was speaking with an urban principal today and she remarked that we automatically assume that teachers don't want to work in urban schools. Why is that? My perspective is that urban schools are where the greatest growth can be found and where the most exciting teaching and learning can take place. The other side of the coin is that these schools are very large with various and diverse subgroups of students. Urban schools serve far greater percentages of special education students, minorities, students whose native tongue is not English, and there are more students living in poverty.
These are also the excuses we hear and read about as to why urban schools often score lower on state testing instruments than do students in suburban and rural schools. I say "pshaw." How, then, do we explain 90-90-90 schools where 90% of the students are minority and live in poverty and still score in the 90th percentile on state exams? What is the response when we can turn around students from Detroit who scored in the 20s to above 75% in less than three years? How can an urban school in Toledo increase their performance index 11.9 points in one year, yet Arne Duncan thinks it's great that the nation improved its performance index by 2 points?
My experience is that it's not so much about poverty or minority status--low scores are more a function of two things: first, teacher expectations for these students and the affect of those expectations on student achievement, and, the lack of on-site, job-embedded professional development and instructional support for teachers.
We don't need to reinvent the wheel every year. Let's just understand the foundation of the challenges and work towards resolving them. It's not rocket science...just a combination of logic and love.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
What Does A Local Report Card Analysis Look Like?
I thought you might be interested in viewing a sample local report card analysis completed by Success Coach. It forms the basis for offering school remediation plans to shore up areas of weakness in academic achievement scores, adequate yearly progress, and performance index. Enjoy! Let us know if you have comments!
Analysis of 2011 Local Report Card
and
Proposal for Remediation
(Name of School Withheld for Privacy/Security)
Success Coach: We Fix Urban Schools. No Excuses; Just Results
by Kit Kotler (419) 660-8888
September 21, 2011
General Information
School Address: Principal:
PK-8, 431 students: 96% black, 3% white, 100% econ. disadv., 18% sped
Academic Emergency, 0/15 indicators met, PI=58.1/120 points, AYP=Not Met, School Improvement Year 8, Value Added=Met
Observations
-Scores are considerably lower than the rest of the district, as well as the state;
-Test scores are mixed over time, however 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th grades look particularly dismal;
-The greatest percentage of students score in the “limited” range which is atypical. Usually most students in a school score in the “proficient” range. The fact that your students score in the lower range is cause for concern;
-Your performance index is increasing over time, which is good, however it is only increasing in small increments and in 2009-2010 actually decreased.
How to Attain “Academic Watch”
-In order to move out of Academic Emergency and attain Academic Watch, the school must attain 31% of 15 indicators, which would mean meeting a total of 6 indicators (currently you have attained 0 indicators). In essence, you would have to reach 75% proficient in six state indicators (subjects at various grade levels, plus attendance).
-Your other option is to achieve a performance index of 70.0…right now your performance index is 58.1 (a difference of 11.9 points). Is that possible to attain? We’ve done it before. In a pilot study of Success Coach the Performance Index rose 11.9 points in its first year of use! I believe this is your best option for attaining Academic Watch, at this time.
Proposal for Remediation
Comprehensive reform is necessary and must be immediate:
-Program evaluations must be conducted in reading, math, and science (at all grade levels) to determine specifically why students are not making the expected achievement. Each program evaluation will identify weaknesses and make recommendations for corrective action.
-Instruction is not currently aligned to state standards, benchmarks and indicators. If it was, you would be attaining higher scores. Teachers must be instructed on the curriculum mapping process. Monthly curriculum maps and weekly lesson plans must be submitted and approved.
-Teachers must have weekly instructional coaching in their classrooms (onsite, job-embedded) with written feedback and support. If the school already has instructional coaches, they need to be properly trained. Just having coaches is not enough to obtain the increases necessary for rapid improvement.
-Teachers should be taught to use Inquiry Based Learning---students will be engaged in the learning, the teacher’s job is easier, it embeds differentiated instruction and Bloom’s taxonomy in every lesson, classroom management issues decline because students are engaged in learning.
-Gather data from reading assessments (dibels?) and use it to formulate reading instruction at all grade levels. If students can’t read, they can’t learn any subject. Aim for 100% proficient at 3rd grade.
-Create a display (in the office) of student proficiency levels by subject and grade level. Use index cards to indicate where each student currently performs. This “visual” will help teachers easily assess which students they need to give additional time to.
Implementation
Implementation of this plan needs to take place immediately in order to see concrete results in next year’s testing. We can provide all services necessary to transform school results.
Costs
Costs are dependent on the plan selected. A formal proposal can and should be negotiated with you immediately in order to have a chance of making Academic Watch for next year. Time is of the essence.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
What is the Real Purpose of an Instructional Coach?
The "name of the game" in educational circles these days is "increasing student achievement scores." To do so, many schools have "promoted" teachers to the rank of instructional coaches-often with little or no professional development to ensure success in the new role.
In our work with schools we often hear grumbling about instructional coaches. It almost seems as if there is a miscommunication on everyone's part as to the purpose and function of an instructional coach. Definitions abound:
Our definition of an instructional coach is one who fosters student academic excellence by providing on-site, job-embedded support to teachers. Instructional coaches observe teachers in their classrooms and provide positive support as teachers transition their skills to contemporary, research-based, teaching strategies and methodologies.
Some of the functions of instructional coaches include:
In our work with schools we often hear grumbling about instructional coaches. It almost seems as if there is a miscommunication on everyone's part as to the purpose and function of an instructional coach. Definitions abound:
- to provide support in literacy and math instruction;
- to increase student achievement by providing support;
- to deliver high-quality professional development to teachers;
- to lead school reform efforts
Our definition of an instructional coach is one who fosters student academic excellence by providing on-site, job-embedded support to teachers. Instructional coaches observe teachers in their classrooms and provide positive support as teachers transition their skills to contemporary, research-based, teaching strategies and methodologies.
Some of the functions of instructional coaches include:
- Observing teachers in their classrooms, having specific, measurable criteria as well as anecdotal evidence with which to guide coaching efforts toward teacher growth and expertise;
- Proving written feedback to teachers after each observation that details findings and asks teachers for their views about strengths and weaknesses of the lesson;
- Meeting with teachers after providing written feedback to personally share support and ideas as well as helping teachers with any difficulties they may be experiencing, such as classroom management issues;
- Being available to conference with teachers before and after school, during lunches, and during teacher breaks. This is often a great opportunity to meet with teachers informally;
- Collaborating with teachers on curriculum maps and lesson plans;
- Co-teaching or co-planning a lesson;
- Facilitating professional learning communities;
- Offering strategies to differentiate teaching and learning for students;
- Assisting teachers in developing and using formative and summative assessments;
- Assisting teachers in analyzing data and subsequently using it as the basis for instructional decisions;
- Providing professional development and support to implement the new common core standards.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Just What Is It That We Do To Fix Schools?
It's hard to know where to begin. My eighteen years in the field of education has convinced me that an important determinant of student learning is whether he or she is "engaged" in the lesson. If the content of a lesson isn't relevant to a student (in terms of needs or wants), he or she will lack the foundation with which to connect the new learning. The result could include any of the following: boredom, lack of assimilation of new material, causing problems in the classroom while seeking to be "entertained," and other off-task behaviors. In addition to student engagement as a determinant of learning,I find that the relationship between teacher and student must be positive in order to effect constructive learning. Our services are designed to promote expertise in these two areas: student engagement and the student-teacher relationship. The fact is, I've been wildly successful in increasing student achievement based on this premise. In one school, we even won the Governor's Golden Apple Award for Academic Achievement.
The services below are representative of what we do to fix schools across the country. We encourage you to share these ideas with others and use what works for you in your unique situation:
The services below are representative of what we do to fix schools across the country. We encourage you to share these ideas with others and use what works for you in your unique situation:
- We provide instructional coaching for teachers using onsite, job-embedded strategies to support teachers as they transition to a new skill set;
- We train the trainer-i.e., if you already have instructional coaches but aren't getting the results you want, we train your coaches to facilitate the desired change. Just having instructional coaches is not enough;
- We coach school administrators. It's lonely at the top. Having the opportunity to be coached can significantly alter how the leadership role is envisioned and carried out;
- We provide group professional development on the topics of your choosing. Give us a day, a time, and a topic and leave the rest to us.
- We provide online courses for teachers in order to maintain licensure. The neat thing about our courses is that they are customized to any topic of interest.
- We provide access to our Inquiry Based Learning system which is complete including the curriculum mapping process, teaching to new core standards, conducting formative and summative assessments, etc.
- We conduct program evaluations to determine specifically why you are not getting the results you need in core curriculum subjects---and we give you specific recommendations for rectifying the situation.
- Finally, we also offer special programs for students at risk of dropping out of school and for those with behavioral issues. These programs involve a combination of mentoring and a self-paced, online course to guide students in goal setting and making choices that get them closer to achieving their dreams.
Enjoy your day!
Kit
Monday, September 5, 2011
Another Year Begins...
September is here and ushers in another school year for students and teachers throughout the country. Many may be apprehensive and, some, excited wondering what the school year will bring. Hopefully there will be new friends, sharing ideas, and solid "student achievement." What, exactly, does that mean anyway?
For many educators, student achievement is related to standardized testing designed by the state. These assessments are said to measure "what students are expected to know and be able to do" at intervals through the K-12 years. Whether we agree or disagree with the practice of using standardized testing to measure student progress the fact is, it's here to stay. My feeling has always been that if it's the law, we're going to do it---but we're going to make it fun.
Learning should be fun-and teaching should be, too. Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is one method that is fun and engaging for both teachers and students. The advent of IBL as an instructional methodology began in the 1940s as a creative way to teach upper level mathematics and science. It has since been used to teach all core curriculum subjects (mathematics, science, social sciences, and English language arts) and I believe it has the potential to revolutionize how we teach and how students learn.
There are several advantages to IBL. First, it embeds differentiated instruction and is far easier to understand and use. The process of learning and its product are automatically differentiated for each student. Second, IBL embeds Bloom's Taxonomy in every lesson. Using critical thinking skills is second nature with IBL as students discover, analyze, create, and assimilate. Third, all students are engaged in IBL. What does that mean for the teacher? Less classroom management issues. Finally, teachers are not responsible for being the all-knowing- giver-of-information. Students define a problem, investigate, reflect, create, and discuss their results-all within a carefully designed sequence that includes both formative and summative assessments. It doesn't get any better than that, does it?
For many educators, student achievement is related to standardized testing designed by the state. These assessments are said to measure "what students are expected to know and be able to do" at intervals through the K-12 years. Whether we agree or disagree with the practice of using standardized testing to measure student progress the fact is, it's here to stay. My feeling has always been that if it's the law, we're going to do it---but we're going to make it fun.
Learning should be fun-and teaching should be, too. Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is one method that is fun and engaging for both teachers and students. The advent of IBL as an instructional methodology began in the 1940s as a creative way to teach upper level mathematics and science. It has since been used to teach all core curriculum subjects (mathematics, science, social sciences, and English language arts) and I believe it has the potential to revolutionize how we teach and how students learn.
There are several advantages to IBL. First, it embeds differentiated instruction and is far easier to understand and use. The process of learning and its product are automatically differentiated for each student. Second, IBL embeds Bloom's Taxonomy in every lesson. Using critical thinking skills is second nature with IBL as students discover, analyze, create, and assimilate. Third, all students are engaged in IBL. What does that mean for the teacher? Less classroom management issues. Finally, teachers are not responsible for being the all-knowing- giver-of-information. Students define a problem, investigate, reflect, create, and discuss their results-all within a carefully designed sequence that includes both formative and summative assessments. It doesn't get any better than that, does it?
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