Communicate Knowledge

Last week, I wrote about making sure that students can understand and make connections to the daily objective.  Harry Wong, the interesting and entertaining educator says, “In an effective classroom, students should not only know what they are doing, they should also know why and how.”  I had the opportunity to hear Mr. Wong’s high energy performance some time back.  The most memorable part was when he talked about being tired.  He claims he isn’t tired at the end of the day because he makes the students do all the work.  “It’s no wonder teachers are tired,” he says.  “They are the ones doing all the work in the classroom.”

One way to think about Wong’s statement is through the use of an imaginary chess timer.  Think of the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer.  As soon as a player makes a move, he punches the timer, which begins recording for the opponent.  If you ran one of these timers in your classroom, how would the time be split between teacher and students?  Who does the most talking?  Who does the most thinking?  Who does the hardest work?  There has to be a balance, but for Competency 2.2, the balance should tip to the side of the students.

Competency 2.2: “Demonstrate and clearly communicate content knowledge to students.” These are the indicators under this competency at the Effective (3) level:

·         The teacher demonstrates content knowledge and delivers content that is factually correct.

·         Content is clear, concise, and well-organized.

·         The teacher restates and rephrases instruction in multiple ways to increase understanding.

·         The teacher emphasizes key points or main ideas in content.

·         The teacher uses developmentally appropriate language and explanations.

·         The teacher implements relevant instructional strategies.

I think most of you would agree that these are, indeed, indicators of effective teaching.  We could—and probably should—spend lots of time talking about several of these bullets: The third one is about differentiation.  (Watch how many times this word comes up in different parts of this rubric.)  The fourth one is about focus and making the main thing the main thing, and you can read whole books about the last bullet.

What is really interesting, however, is to compare the Effective (3) indicators with the Highly Effective (4) Indicators.  To score at the level four (Highly Effective), the rubric includes these indicators:

·         The teacher effectively connects content to other content areas, students’ experiences and interests, or current events in order to make the content relevant and build interest.

·         Explanations spark student excitement and interest in the content.

·         Students participate in each other’s learning of content through collaboration during the lesson.

·         Students ask higher-order questions and make connections independently, demonstrating that they understand the content at a higher level.

·         Students perceive that the teacher has a deep knowledge of the subject area content.

Do you see why I included Mr. Wong and the chess timer in the introduction?  To get to Highly Effective, students must do much more of the work and the thinking.  The indicators in Effective often start with “The teacher…”  In Highly Effective, the last three indicators start with “Students…” and the other two require student participation.

Included in the statement of this competency is the phrase “communicate clearly.”  Communication, as clarified by the indicators, is a two-way street.  The teacher certainly has a big part, but the student must be engaged in the communication as well.

I’m hitting the timer.  It’s your turn to do the work.

Have a great week, HSE.

Phil

BTEOTLSW....

Email Objective: By the end of this email, you will have a deeper understanding of Competency 2.1 of the HSE Teacher Evaluation Rubric, as measured by your responses.

When we moved to Fishers, we became increasingly reliant on our GPS.  In fact, I had to get rid of my trusty Garmin because it wasn’t all that trusty.  The maps were out of date.  Of course, in Fishers I suppose maps go out of date almost daily.  Instead of updating maps, I installed TeleNav on my phone.  I have a nifty holder on the dashboard, and I almost automatically put the phone in the cradle and call up the maps.

At first I used TeleNav regularly to go everywhere.  Now that I know many new locations, I tend to leave TeleNav in map mode to see where I am in the “big picture” and to make connections between the areas I know and those gray areas in between known locations.

The use of TeleNav is a fairly good metaphor for Competency 2.1 in the Instruction Domain of the Teacher Effectiveness Rubric.  The actual document reads like this: “Develop student understanding and mastery of lesson objectives.”  

This competency is all about communicating daily lesson objectives and measuring whether or not students understand what they are learning each day in relationship to where they came from and where they are going.  Emphasis should be placed on the word “daily.”  Using the TeleNav metaphor, the final destination is covered in Domain 1: Planning.  Where your students are on the road right now, and the next turn is covered in Domain 2(Instruction) and Competency 2.1.

So what the heck does 2.1 look like in the classroom? 

Below in italics are the indicators of the “Effective (3)” category, with my commentary thrown in for good measure.  Indicators are what their name implies.  These are possible ways to document evidence of effective teaching. 

·         The lesson objective is specific, measurable, and aligned to standards.  It conveys what students are learning and what they will be able to do by the end of the lesson.  Comments: Notice that this indicator is about the purpose of each day’s lesson.  The objective should not be a secret!  The teacher can’t be the only one in the room who knows what the daily objective is.  The teacher must “convey” to the students what they are to learn by the end of the lesson.  I like the phrasing, “By the end of the lesson, students will….”  (BTEOTLSW… You can even use it in this abbreviated format on the board.)  Notice also that the objective is different than the standard.  The daily objective breaks the standard into lesson-sized chunks.

·         The objective is written in a developmentally appropriate manner and/or explained to students in easy-to-understand terms. Comments: Intuitive students are likely to pick up the lesson’s objective without having it written or explained.  I contend that we have fewer truly intuitive students than we think, and even they can benefit from scaffolding to help clarify the daily objective.

·         The importance of the objective is explained so that students understand why they are learning what they are learning.  Comments: I could repeat the comments from the bullet directly above.  Instead, I ask you to think of classes you have taken.  You do better and are more focused when you understand “why” you are learning something.  We need to make sure our students have this benefit as well.

·         The lesson builds on students’ prior knowledge of key concepts and skills and makes this connection evident to students.  Comments: Start the academic GPS at the beginning of the lesson.  You are essentially saying, “This is where we have been.  This is where we are going.  Today is going to help us make the next step of the journey.”  Check in often during the lesson to make sure the students are on track.

·         The lesson is well-organized to move students towards mastery of the objective.  Comments: The lesson has to actually help the students move down the road in the right direction.  Self-evident perhaps, but it is possible to take a scenic route to nowhere and waste time getting back on track.  This indicator also calls for assessment.  How do you know the students moved towards mastery?  Daily assessments can be formal or informal, but you need to gather formative feedback.  More on this below.

Above are the indicators for the “Effective (3)” rating.  To get to “Highly Effective (4),” much of the “Effective” evidence is observed throughout the year, plus:

·         Students can explain what they are learning and why it is important, beyond repeating the stated objective, and

·         The teacher effectively engages prior knowledge of students in connecting to the lesson.  Students demonstrate through work and comments that they understand this connection.

This is fairly easy to check.  At the end of a lesson, give your students an exit ticket and ask them what they learned (or learned at a deeper level) and why it is important.  See what they say.  During class discussions, ask students to connect what they are learning to past learning, to future learning, to other courses in your content area, to content areas outside your department, and to life.  Avoid the temptation to make the connections for them.  Make them do the thinking.

Side note: You will start to see a pattern in the rubric.  Effective indictors describe solid teaching, but they are often more teacher-directed.  To score 4 or Highly Effective, indicators have students doing most of the thinking and work. 

Student exit ticket responses and verbal answers, whether they are what you hoped for or not, will inform your teaching for the next day.  You will make sure you are navigating on the right road to get to your destination. 

For Competency 2.1, turn on your academic GPS.  Fasten your seat belts.  Check your review mirror, and merge into the flow of traffic.  Check your progress often.

And don’t forget to enjoy the journey.  Have a great week.

Phil

PS: Did I meet the objective for this email?  What did you just learn—besides that guy writes too much?  Hit “Reply” and respond to my exit ticket.

Royal Ramblings 8.17.12

When an email goes out to the staff saying I will have a column in the Royal Remarks and that the newsletter will come out the next day, my level of concern tends to rise.  The advantage of dashing off a quick newsletter is that the bar can be set low.  So here goes….

Thoughts and ramblings from the first week: 

·         I’m trying to get out in classrooms as much as possible.  When I come in, just keep going.  I want to see and hear what is going on and get the “pulse” of the school.  I’m learning lots.  Today I learned that chemistry majors and physics majors have a whole different view on life, that the human body is born with more bones than it has as it ages, that classroom rules can be acted out, and that the trees—or lack thereof—on Easter Island have implications for us today.

·         Being new is over-rated.  It’s true that we want the newest technology, gadgets, and cars, but being a beginner is tough.  As educators, we are used to being the experts.  We like being in the know and struggle being a beginner.  It is good to keep in mind that our students are always “new” in our classes and that learning isn’t always easy.  This year, especially, I can relate to what our students are feeling. 

·         I have already written a bit about mindsets. I am fascinated by this concept articulated by Carol Dweck and its implications.  People with growth mindsets see obstacles as challenges, turn setbacks into learning opportunities, and feel in control of their futures.  People with fixed mindsets believe they “are what they are.”  Their talents and intelligence are a given and unchangeable.  One main difference is that growth mindset people see the value of hard work in the learning process and are willing to struggle and take risks.  Those with a fixed mindset avoid investing themselves in hard work or taking risks.  Why?  If the work isn’t easy or they don’t immediately succeed, this “proves” they aren’t smart or talented.  Fixed mindsets want to be praised and not challenged. Do you recognize both kinds of students in your classes? 

·         The great thing about mindset, according to Dweck, is that once you are aware of it, you can actually choose your mindset.  You can learn to adopt a growth mindset.  Actually, that is a bit frightening if we examine ourselves too closely.

·         Generally speaking, educators love learning.  We especially love learning about our area of specialty.  It is, after all, why we picked it.  I can see your enthusiasm as I come into your rooms.  Who but a teacher could get so excited about crustaceans, sig figs, or onomatopoeia?  We are sometimes surprised when others don’t share our enthusiasm.  Go figure.

·         Here is the kicker: This year we are all going to be beginners with the new evaluation system.  The good news: I’m not alone as the new guy!  The bad news: We might not enjoy the uncertainty of being new.  The good news part II: We do have a choice.  We can choose to have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.  How we choose will directly impact how we experience this new model.

Look for a separate email on Monday with more detail on Indicator 2.1 of the Teacher Effectiveness Rubric.  I’ll try to raise the bar.  I hope it is helpful, but it may get long.  Consider yourself forewarned.

Teacher Effectiveness Rubric 8.13.12

Last Thursday, I went through registration as a father and spent time with two of my kids lugging books around the school while trying to find rooms and lockers.  We did fairly well with the B and C rooms, but struggled finding A rooms.  How can A300 rooms be across the hall from A500?  Where did you hide A400 rooms?  And even those elusive A400 rooms were easier to understand than the numerical order of the A lockers.

Eventually the organization of the building began to make sense.  Some great kids and teachers pointed us in the right direction, and Charlie explained about the history of the locker numbers.  We found a bank of lockers hidden down in the music area, dropped off books, and discovered the A400s just to the north of the A300s.  (I take back all the things I said under my breath and admit there is a method to the madness.)

I suggest to you that what two of my children and I experienced last Thursday is a bit of what you will experience this coming year as we begin the new teacher evaluation process using the HSE Teacher Evaluation and Development System (TEDS).  At first, the experience will seem daunting or even overwhelming.  As you work your way through the process, however, you will start making sense of the system.  You will get some help along the way, and you will begin to see the method to the madness.

What I would like to do over the next few weeks is give you some guideposts that I hope will help with this journey.  Today’s post is an overview of the TEDS process, and in the coming weeks I will spend time writing about specifics and how this might impact you.

As you get these emails with the subject line: “From B106,” feel free to read them immediately, save them for later when they become more applicable, or delete them if they aren’t helpful. 

TEDS: The Major Components

One key to student success in your classroom is to make sure that each student has a solid grasp of important academic vocabulary and to use these terms with consistency.  TEDS also has common vocabulary. HSE administrators are learning these terms along with you and working to use the terms precisely.  This part is review—I hope.

●     Teacher Effectiveness Rubric (TER): This is the most significant part of the evaluation process.  I will go into more detail below.  It counts for 75% of your overall evaluation.

●     Student Learning Objectives (SLO): You will have two of these this year.  In the first semester, you will work with one of your classes to assess student progress, and in the second semester, you will identify a handful of students and monitor their growth.  Warning: The class SLO may seem especially overwhelming, partly because much of the work needs to be completed right at the beginning of this school year.  Don’t panic.  Think of Stuart Smalley in the old Saturday Night Live skit saying, “I’m good enough.  I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.”  Keep repeating this to yourself regularly.  We will get through this.  SLOs count for 20% of your overall evaluation.

●     School-Wide Learning (SWL): This is the easy part.  It is figured by the State of Indiana at the end of the school year based on the school accountability measures.  You impact this score by helping HSE students pass End of Course Assessments, attend regularly, graduate on time, and succeed in Advanced Placement or college credit classes.  This counts for 5% of your overall evaluation.

In The Teacher Effectiveness Rubric (TER), the most important terms are Domains, Competencies, and Indicators.  Domains are the largest categories and are divided into Competencies.  The Competencies include Indicators that give teachers and evaluators examples to help with scoring. Even though there are three Domains in the TER, they do not have equal weight.

●     Planning: This Domain includes five Competencies which deal with data, goal-setting, unit planning, lesson planning, and tracking student progress.  For HSEHS teachers, this “counts” for 10% on the Teacher Effectiveness Rubric. 

●     Instruction: This is the heart of TEDS.  The Instruction Domain includes nine Competencies and “counts” for 75% on the Teacher Effectiveness Rubric.  By the weight given, you can see that this is the key Domain.  In the coming weeks, I will break down each of these Competencies and their Indicators.  The big questions: What does it look like in the classroom?  What should teachers do, and what should students do?  What evidence will evaluators need to see? 

●     Leadership: This Domain includes five competencies and “counts” for 15% on the Teacher Effectiveness Rubric.  This domain is about contributing to school culture, collaboration, professional growth, advocating for students, and engaging families.

Depending on how familiar you are with TEDS, right now you may be feeling like I did last Thursday trying to figure out the building layout, or you may be feeling more like Charlie, who can tell you a story about each room in the building.

Either way, school is about to start.  Students will stream through the door next Wednesday, and when the first bell rings, we also start the new evaluation system.  Next week, I will spend time on the Instruction Domain and try to help clarify what it means.  I am confident that you will discover several things: 1) The rubric really is about good instruction, and 2) You will find many, many connections in the rubric to your current instructional practice.  Feel free to repeat the line from Stuart Smalley here.

Let me know if this is helpful.  Let me know if I can alleviate some of your concerns.   Let me know if you have questions that I might be able to answer in the next few weeks.  (You don’t have to let me know if you just hit delete after the first paragraph, of if you programed Outlook to automatically send my emails to the Recycle Bin.)

Have a great first week, HSE.

Phil

Introduction to HSEHS

I’m sitting in my office, surrounded by an interesting and slightly disconcerting combination of familiar and new.  In the former category are the old schoolhouse clock, the pictures of my wife and family, and my favorite books.   In the latter are this computer I’m using to write, nice windows with a view of sky (which I did not have in my previous office), and the Hamilton Southeastern High School sign on the wall by the door.

In administration, there is a quiet time that I have experienced once before.  It is the time of being new and not knowing quite what is expected or what I should do.  This is a deceptive time, the lull before the storm.  Soon the pace will pick up, and we will start the “new normal.”  Until then, I am in a time of questioning, of wondering what will come and how to fit in and make a contribution.

You may have some of the same feelings about a new assistant principal.  If you come into my office, you will see a slightly disconcerting combination of familiar and new, and you may wonder about what is to come and how you will interact with the new guy.  This questioning is certainly intensified by the changes coming this year in the teacher evaluation process and the uncertainties associated with the unknown.

My intention with this email is to start the process of learning to know each other and make a smooth transition to the new normal.  Therefore, I have listed below, in no particular order of importance, information about me:

·         I was a classroom English teacher for 21 years.  I taught middle school in Puerto Rico and Kansas and high school in Indiana, and still think of myself as a teacher.

·         For the past 11 years, I was an assistant principal at Goshen High School, working primarily with curriculum and instruction.

·         My wife is an elementary principal as well—and the best person and educator I know.  My dad always told me to “marry up.”  I took his advice.

·         We married right out of college and have nine children.  Two will be HSE students this fall.

·         I come from a family of educators: one of my grandparents, both parents, and both siblings are teachers/professors.

·         When I was a child, I went to a different elementary school every year until I reached sixth grade.  Until later in life, I thought this was typical. My family settled in Kansas, and I’m still a Jayhawk fan.

·         I am also a fan of Carol Dweck and will talk to you about fixed and growth mindsets.  Her work helps clarify my thinking as an educator and as a father.

·         Professionally, Robert Marzano makes complete sense to me, as does Thomas Guskey, Ken O’Conner, Doug Lemov, Harvey Daniels, Marvin Marshall, and Jim Burke.

·         The best book I read for fun this summer was by Elizabeth George.  But she left me hanging, so now I need to wait for the next book in the series.

·         As for TV, our oldest daughter got us hooked on the PBS modern version of Sherlock Holmes.  (There are so few shows in the series, we are watching them judiciously.)  On radio, my favorite is StoryCorps on NPR.  Full disclosure: I also have several buttons tuned to country music stations.

·         I am learning American Sign Language and making some progress, but I’m not there—yet.

·         Almost all my heroes are teachers.  They change the world one student at a time.

I hope this helps.  Please stop by and introduce yourself.  Tell me what you think I should know about HSE and the town of Fishers. Tell me how I can help you help students.  Tell me not to write long emails that take too much of your time.  Tell me what you think I should know about you.

It is good to be here, and I look forward to working with you in the coming months and years to make HSE an even better place for our students.

Phil Lederach, the new guy in B106