Happy Holidays!

Wow...our year is coming to an end, how did this happen so fast? The first half of the school year is over. This is an exciting and sad time of year. We remember all the memories that we made and look forward to the new ones we will experience in 2018. We are already thinking about new goals and resolutions. My wish is that you spend this last week enjoying your students. Spend some quality time with one another. They will remember these moments the most, I promise! We have four days left with our students- even better they are dress up days! It's time to breathe, cherish these moments, and enjoy the holiday cheer we all bring one another. It has been an exciting, adventurous, and an inspirational year. As a school, we have alot to be thankful for- one being our students and the relationships we built with one another, which is also a blessing. I am leaving this year thankful and blessed. I hope you each take a second to reflect on your year. This may be a great conversation to have with your students as well. How can we be even more successful in the upcoming new year? They look up to each and every one of you. You are a blessing in their life, and they are thankful to have a strong, willing, and heart-filled teacher that provides an education so that they will be be successful. I am very excited for 2018 to begin. I know this year will be even better than 2017. 

Just a few reminders:
No WMM
No Thursday team meeting
Enjoy your found time :)

Monday- Red, White and Green day
Tuesday- Hilarious Hat day
Wednesday- Tacky shirt/sweater day
Thursday- PJ Day, Pot luck, Movie, Twas Night before Christmas

As always, thank you for EVERYTHING you do! Enjoy this last week. Happy Holidays and may you have a Happy New Year! Please take some time over break to relax and spend time with family and friends. 

Examining Errors in Reasoning

Examining Errors in Reasoning Element #18

Examining errors in reasoning is one of the more challenging instructional practices for educators.  It is difficult to teach students how to examine and self-regulate their own thinking processes as well as evaluate the logic of information that is presented to them.  In a recent study of the frequency of various observed content strategies, fewer than 2% of observed instructional episodes contained opportunities for students to engage with new content by either learning how to think more logically and critically from direct instruction about reasoning or applying reasoning to content texts and discussions (Marzano & Toth, 2014). 

Here are some teacher actions or behaviors that have been associated with an effective implementation of examining reasoning:

• ·         Identify critical content for examination by students
• ·         Teach students how to examine and analyze information for errors-or informal fallacies in content or in their own reasoning-through directly instructing, modeling, and facilitating
• ·         Provide ongoing opportunities for students to identify common errors in logic
• ·         Teaching students how to state and support a claim with grounds, backing, and qualifiers through directly instructing, modeling, and facilitating
• ·         Provide ongoing opportunities for students to state and support a claim with grounds, backing, and qualifiers
• ·         Teach students how to examine and analyze the strength of support presented for a claim in content or in their own reasoning through directly instructing, modeling, and facilitating
• ·         Teach students how to analyze errors so they can identify more efficient ways to execute processes through directly instructing, modeling, and facilitating
• ·         Provide ongoing opportunities for students to learn how to support claims and assertions for those claims in relationship to the evidence

There are many common mistakes that can take teaching and therefore learning off course:

• ·         Failing to identify and utilize appropriate materials
• ·         Failing to connect to related instructional strategies
• ·         Failing to provide the necessary instruction
• ·         Failing to show rather than tell
• ·         Failing to provide ongoing opportunities
• ·         Failing to allow students the time to process and deepen understanding

Examining reasoning cannot be rushed, especially when students are first learning how to stop and think about what they have said or heard.  Time is needed for reflection, and when you fail to provide appropriate wait times during which students can process and deepen their understanding of a response or claim, you deprive them of an opportunity to consider the appropriateness of that claim and how it relates to what they have learned. 

Please take time to review the desired result and rubrics that accompany this element.  The following link has more in depth information related to this element.  There is also a video at the bottom of the document that will show you element 18 in action in a kindergarten classroom.  There are also a few pdf’s linked to that document that you may find helpful. 

https://graniteschools.instructure.com/courses/1118234/pages/examining-errors-in-reasoning

 

Identifying Critical Information

Highlighting critical information strategies involves the teacher pointing out what IS important and what is LESS important based on the information he/she is presenting that day. Students are bombarded with information daily, they need to know what is extremely important so they can focus on it and make the instant connection. Students hear the teacher talking, and other students talking about the content. They also read about the content, examine pictures and observe demonstrations, but they do know what they need to take away each day? Not all of the information is equally important. You will see remarkable changes in your student’s ability to process and understand new content once they are able to identify which content is critical and understand how learned content scaffolds into complexity.

Table 6.2 suggest using these strategies.

Repeating the most important content- Repeating not only identifies which information is critical but it helps students remember that information.

Asking questions that focus on critical information- The teacher ask questions that remind students of previous content and highlight what is important in the current content.

Using visual activities- The teacher uses storyboards, TM’s, and pictures to highlight critical information, help students create mental pictures of the information, and promote comprehension and recall.

Using narrative activities- the teacher uses stories to anchor information and signal to students that certain information is important.

Using tone of voice, gestures, and body position- The teacher uses tone of voice, gestures, and body position to emphasize important information.

Use pause time- teacher pauses during the presentation of new content to highlight important points. It gives students the opportunity to take in and process content.

Identifying critical-input experiences- These introduce important new content to students and are vital to enhancing student learning. Teacher take special care in planning for these experiences.

Using explicit instruction to convey critical content- Dramatic activities- skits, role playing, other body movements.

Providing advance organizers to cue critical content- Thinking maps, verbal cues to a classroom chart.

Using what students already know to cue critical content- Teacher uses what they already know to explain critical content. Provides students with a link to old knowledge for every critical aspect of the new knowledge.

When the strategies in this element produce the desired effects, teachers will observe the following behaviors in students:

Students can describe the level of importance of specific information, can explain why specific content is important to know, and visibly adjust their level of attention when teachers present information content.

For further information regarding any of the above strategies you may check out the Identifying Critical Content book-classroom techniques to help students know what is important. 

Here is a link to the book: 
https://www.learningsciences.com/media/catalog/product//i/c/icc_lookinside.pdf

Creating and Using Learning Targets and Performance Scales

Learning targets provide a focus for planning and enable teachers to work more efficiently.  These targets serve as communication tools that set forth a criteria for student success in each lesson.  It also functions as a feedback tool that can provide teachers and students with information about performance toward the learning goal.  These learning targets drive what is taught and include all activities, assignments, and assessments that will occur during the lessons or units.  The benefits of learning targets extend beyond the classroom for teachers as they faciliate communication between colleagues, coaches, and school leaders and provide a focus for their collaborative work in professional learning communities. 

Learning targets provide students with an accurate guide to what they need to learn on a day-to-day basis.  Using these targets establishes a clear criteria for what students need to demonstrate to successfully meet the expectations for each lesson and ultimately attain the academic standard.  When students grasp their learning targets, they often become empowered to take ownership and responsibility for future learning.  This will increase their level of engagement and should in turn increase student achievement. 

Please reflect on the following questions that align with the first chapter of Marzano's The New Art and Science of Teaching.

1. What desired mental states and processes should students have regarding clear learning goals? Why is it important for students to attain these mental states and processes?

2.  When the strategies in element 1, providing scales and rubrics, produce the desired effects, what behaviors will teachers see students display?

3.  How are scales and rubrics distinctly different from each other?  Describe a case in which you might design a rubric for your classroom's purposes, and describe a case in which a scale would be a better fit.

4.  In table 1.2, there are three general types of assessments. 1) obtrusive assessments, 2) unobtrusive assessments, and 3) student-generated assessments.  Obtrusive assessments interrupt the flow of instruction.  Teaching stops; assessments occur.  Typically, obtrusive assessments are pencil and paper in nature.  Classroom teachers tend to use obtrusive assessments almost exclusively.  Unobtrusive assessments do not interrupt the flow of instruction and commonly take the form of observations while students are working.  Student-generated assessments are the most unique and potentially powerful form of assessments because students determine how they might demonstrate proficiency on a particular topic.  student-generated assessments help develop student agency because they give some decision-making power to those who are being assessed.   
~When do these types of assessments occur in relation to the flow of instruction, and what qualities do these types of assessments typically have? 
~Which form of assessment has the most potential power, and why?

5.  Define the concepts of status and growth, how they relate to each other, and how both relate to students' scores on a proficiency scale.

Monday Marzano Madness MMM

The faculty and leadership of Myakka River Elementary will be fully engaged in monthly, structured, grade level professional learning activities that focus on instructional practices to increase student engagement. Admin will provide coaching and feedback to faculty during frequent walk-throughs about instructional practices focused on student engagement.

Charlotte county public schools adopted the Marzano elements 5 years ago to provide a framework for best instructional practices in the classroom.  Recently, Kristina and I attended a refresher Marzano professional development offered to all administrators.  Through this PD, I was re-certified and Kristina was certified with inter-rater reliability of the Marzano feedback tool.  The Marzano elements have not changed and we would like to revisit these elements in an effort to focus on instructional practices that will increase student engagement and therefore increase student achievement.  We understand the importance of providing you with expectations and will provide you with a reminder of what we will be looking for when we visit your classrooms.  Our role is to clearly communicate expectations and provide support so that all of you can be successful. 

After attending this morning’s principal meeting, reflecting on last week’s PPC meeting, and having several discussions with Kristina, we have decided that we want to postpone coming into your classrooms for formal observations until after the Winter Holidays.  We apologize for any inconvenience or added stress this may have caused, but we want to provide you with this time to review the expectations.  We know that there are several of you who already have observations scheduled, and we would be happy to visit your classrooms during that time to collect data using the CCPS expectations tool.  Please let us know if you would still like us to come in during that time.  We will need to reschedule the formal evaluation starting in January.   Our goal is to offer information related to these expectations through our Monday Morning Messages and Wednesday Morning Meetings.  We want to give you enough information so that you will be successful and comfortable when we come in for your formal observations.  We will continue to do frequent walk-throughs and will collect information and provide you with feedback.  If we are able to score any of the elements during these walk-throughs we will begin to collect that information on the CCPS google form.  This way, when we do come in for your formal observations, you will not have to worry about hitting all of the elements, since we hope to have several scored before that time.  During your preconference appointment, we can use this time to look at the elements that we have already scored and make a plan for how we will meet the additional elements or increase your current rating.  Please keep in mind that this process for continuous improvement is an ongoing process and not intended to be done with only one observation.  Similar to your classrooms, we want to provide you with a safe learning environment where you are comfortable expanding your skill sets.  We hope to minimize the threats as well as provide ample amounts of reinforcing feedback as you perform closer and closer to the expected levels of performance. 

To help us dig deeper into the CCPS expectations tool, we have purchased several additional resources from Marzano that we will pull information from to share with all of you.  If you would like to look at the resources in more depth, we will have them available to check out from our office for anyone who is interested.  We encourage you to look at the specific element rubrics that include the teacher and student evidence and desired effect of these elements.  This will help you gain a deeper understanding of what the expectations are in relation to these elements.  We want you to pay close attention to the applying rating of the elements.  The difference between the developing and applying rating is the monitoring component of the desired effect of the majority of the class.  This means that there is evidence that 51% of your students are meeting the desired effect of the element.  Our role in this process is to report what we see and hear in the classroom.  We may prompt discussions by asking questions that will require you to reflect on instructional practices that were taking place during our visits.   Please understand that ultimately it is up to you, the individual teacher, to grow as an instructional leader.  Your emphasis on Domain 1, classroom strategies and behaviors, will have the most direct effect on student performance.  We are here to support you and coach you along the way.   

Feedback as it relates to growing is KEY!

Good morning Mighty Manatees, 

Grace and I recently went to a very valuable training on inter-rater agreement (Marzano elements). We were trained on how to give informative feedback to drive instruction which ultimately produces student achievement. We spent hours digging into video footage- rating observations on the scales and rubrics, and taking accurate data collection notes that is pertinent to each element. We learned that your role in this process is very important, if not the most important. Our biggest take away from the training was learning how to script what we see and hear, and then share it with you can reflect on ways to enhance your teaching practices. 

As with anything, we have goals. You have student and grade level goals and we have goals as leaders. Goals within our district and goals with helping teachers learn and grow through valuable and reliable feedback. 

Our learning goals....
We will:

1. Be able to develop a common language and understanding of the elements and the research on which they are based upon. 
2. Be able to develop and refine our skills in observation and data collection during classroom visits. 
3. Be able to align teacher and student data with the appropriate elements included in the districts teacher evaluation instrument. Furthermore, leaders will be able to discern between high-impact and low-impact instructional behaviors. 
4. Be able to accurately rate teachers performance using the scales included in the instrument (inter-rater agreement)
5. Be able to plan and deliver feedback to teachers using conferencing strategies that reinforce effect teaching behaviors and increase the probability of influencing behavioral change. 

Marzano elements are no longer just used to evaluate teachers, they are MORE than that. Honestly, it should never have been viewed that way. The perception has been evaluation, but in reality it is used to teach. It's simply "good teaching." We are changing our views as it was meant to be: Learning, Teaching, and Evaluation. The expectation is that teachers use this to drive their instruction, it is a teaching tool. To understand teaching, one must understand learning. We have to learn what the elements mean and entail. What do they mean to you? What do they mean to your students? What do they mean to your classroom instruction? What do they mean to student success? What do they mean to getting an A? It's time to unpack the elements like we unpack the standards- dig deeper! Learning is knowledge of skills and strategies that help us be SUCCESSFUL! 

6 processes for influencing instruction

• A shared vision of quality student work
• Shared vision of quality instruction
• Sense of urgency for instructional improvement
• Effective monitoring and feedback on teaching and learning
• Frequent collaboration about teaching and learning
• Sit based, job-embedded professional development focused on strengthening instruction

Student’s achievement- what supports this?

• Quality of instruction (has a direct impact on student achievement)
• P and the P- People and Process
• Leadership- do not focus on structural changes, focus on instructional changes.

You are all leaders, you influence students' lives everyday. You encourage, motivate, and promote student achievement. Students come to school to gather, process, store, and retrieve information. They are learning how to learn. Effort plus attitude equals intelligence. We want them to take control of their learning like we do ourselves. They need to reflect on the process. Learning these elements is in our control. It's time we take control, we need to learn and reflect on the Marzano elements. As a school, we are going to move further to understand the elements to promote learning and growing. Yes, this will require time and effort, but in the end the outcome will be valuable. 

We are Life-Changing Teachers!

I can still remember the pink gingham dress my mother picked out for me to wear on my first day of kindergarten.  I remember how excited I was to finally be able to go to school.  I actually attended school here in Charlotte County at Meadow Park Elementary.  I had Mrs. Irwin as my kindergarten teacher.  She was kind, caring, fun, and pretty.  Although, I can remember reading, coloring, and playing, I can’t remember specific academic lessons I learned.  I do however, remember how she made me feel.  I decided then, that I wanted to be a teacher. 

Over the next dozen years, I had teachers who were passionate about their job and I had teachers who were not.  I am sure that all of you can think of those few teachers who left a lasting impression on you.  Those teachers who changed and molded you into who you are today.  Those teachers that you would consider unforgettable and life changing. 

Recently, I came across an article in a blog at https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-traits-life-changing-teachers-betty-ray titled 6 Traits of Life-Changing Teachers.

In education there’s a lot of talk about standards, curriculum, and assessment—but when we ask adults what they remember about their education, decades after they’ve left school, the answers are always about their best teachers.  So what is it about great educators that leaves such an indelible impression? If the memory of curriculum and pedagogy fades with time, or fails to register at all, why do some teachers occupy our mental landscape years later? We started getting curious: What are the standout qualities that make some teachers life changers?

To answer this question, we asked our Facebook community directly. Over 700 responses poured in from teachers, parents, and students. When we analyzed the responses, some clear patterns began to emerge, across all age ranges and geography—even subjects.

Each trait includes detailed information in the blog.  I hope that you can take time to read it in its entirety.  I will just pull bits and pieces of the information for each life-changing trait.  It makes my heart happy to know that the teachers here at Myakka River Elementary possess all 6 of these traits.

1.       Life-Changing Teachers Help Their Students Feel Safe

The research is unequivocal: People can’t learn if they’re anxious, frightened, or in trauma. Safety is part of the education starter kit. Unsurprisingly, many of our readers recalled that the best teachers establish a culture of safety and support in their classrooms, whether it’s physical, emotional, or intellectual.

2.       Life-Changing Teachers Possess a Contagious Passion

A passion for education is in the blood of the best teachers—the word passion showed up 45 times in our audience responses—and the best teachers pass it on to students.

3.       Life-Changing Teachers Model Patience

Learning can be slow and messy. Classrooms are filled with students—sometimes more than 30 at a time—who arrive each day with different emotional needs, and learn at wildly different speeds. Remarkably, life-changing teachers find a way to stay calm amid the chaos and play the long game, giving their students the time and support they need to learn.

4.       Life-Changing Teachers Know When to Be Tough

If life-changing teachers are patient, they also know when to change gears and get tough. They’re the teachers who challenge us to be better students and better humans—and then up the ante and demand that of us.

5.       Life-Changing Teachers Believe in Their Students (and Help Them Believe in Themselves)

The power of a teacher’s simple, unequivocal belief in a student was mentioned almost 70 times by respondents. Most of us have had some sort of self-doubt, but many students are crippled by it. Life-changing teachers have the gift of seeing potential in kids when others don’t, and then have the perseverance to help the children find it within themselves.

6.       Life-Changing Teachers Love Their Students

Respondents used the word love a whopping 187 times (and that’s not counting an additional 157 heart emojis). Showing love for students—through small but meaningful gestures of kindness—is far and away the most impactful thing life-changing teachers do.

Taking a step back, it appears that the most direct and longest-lasting way to reach a child—to really make a difference in his or her life—is through so-called non-cognitive dimensions like passion, patience, rigor, and kindness. And when students are lucky enough to find a life-changing teacher, the benefits last a lifetime. In many cases, those students take up the vocation themselves: 145 of the people who responded to our question had become teachers, passing the gift of education forward to the next generation.

Thank you for changing lives every day!

I also wanted to share this video that came across my news feed this weekend.  This principal is not your typical principal, but his number one goal is to make all his students feel loved.  https://www.facebook.com/whatweseee/videos/1580623271997035/