I’ll take a crack at some live blogging. I think Doug Belshaw might be “irritated” but here we go:
My thoughts are in UPPERCASE. I can see much of this might be incoherent…if there’s value or need for clarification or discussion, leave a comment.
Doug Reeves: Four Questions
- What do students need to learn?
- How do we know they’ve learned it..before the tests?
- What are the most effective teaching and learning strategies?
Speaking about accountiblity for central office administrators…everyone is accountable
STARTING TO HATE THAT WORD.
Reassess what you’ve learn with PLC’s and dig deeper…don’t retool…I LIKE THAT
Equity Gaps
Clear evidence to say that reducing this gap is not about outside factors such as socio-economic factors…it’s about what schools and teachers do
Brand names or programs are a myth….deep implementation of a few things makes a difference
Leadership Map
Lucky…high achievers…replication of success unlikely
Losing…low achievers… replication of success unlikely
Learning….low results…replication of success likely
Leading…high achievers…replication of success likely
Don’t use scores alone….demonstrate and account for learning that doesn’t yield high test scores…focus on improvements
What is your level of implementation? No need to do one more new thing. Just do it better and deeper…research has been out for a while…if 90% of teachers participate
- Recognition of Achievement….do you have a trophy case? Teachers who systematically recognize achievement see better results
- Aligning Standards….
- Assignment of teachers based on needs…instead of teacher preference
- Modeling and Mentoring of instructional strategies
- Engaging Classroom Environments….posting standards and excellent work POSTING WHERE..IN THE CLASSROOM? I THINK THERE’S A BETTER PLACE 😉
- Deep Content of Analysis
- Monitoring
- Teaching Strategies
These are not new things….but they’ve never been deeply implemented…we assume too much…we haven’t done these things well
It’s their Culture …how to we deal with minority issues or in our case First Nations.
evidence shows that blacks and hispanics popularity declined as grades went past 3.0
2nd grade students when asked, “who do you want to be like?” focus on other high achievers
7th grade students are wanting more and more to be like lower achievers
Rules of games are consistent…grades aren’t…after a while, kids don’t want to play anymore….of things that are important, we have consistency….why not grading
I LIKE THE PRINCIPLE BUT DOES THIS LEAD TO STANDARDIZED TESTS AND DUMBING DOWN OF WORK IN ORDER TO MANAGE IT?
Toxic Grading Practices and Alternatives
- Zeros for missing work….instead…apply Larry the Cable Guy’s practice…”git ‘er done”
- Average/Mean…instead…evaluate best representation of work
Semester killer-one project or test…multiple evidence of learning
Change Killers
- Toxic Feedback….set teachers up with success….tell them what you’re looking for and give them feedback the same day
- Hierarchial Communication…Networking is better….WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS BEFORE IN ACTION?
- Blame…those who believe achievement is due to teacher decisions as opposed to those who blame kids and other factors
Effective Change
- Do we watch just kids or teachers?
- What and who are the cause of achievement?
- Evaluation…is it working?
- Differentiated PD
- 4,3,2.,1
- I will lead
- I will model
- Iknow about this but don’t use it
- I’m not familiar
Holistic Accountablility
- Science Fair for adults..sharing and transparency…I CALL IT BLOGGING
- Conversations
- Remove excuses
- Watch those that do it right
DOUG OFFERS SOMES GREAT STUFF AND TO ME IS CHALLENGING TYPICAL CLASSROOMS….COMBINE THIS WILL TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT AND MEANING AND I THINK SCHOOLS AND CLASSROOMS WOULD LOOK QUITE DIFFERENT
- 4,3,2.,1
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Ha ha! Indeed.
I just can’t see the reason for ‘live blogging’ unless your audience absolutely needs the information as you’re typing it. Otherwise, why not just record your thoughts in a word processor/personal wiki and then put together a coherent post on it later? It’s a better learning technique anyway… 🙂
Just giving you a hard time….pretty good that I remembered your post.
I kind of agree with you but it’s mostly because I’m lazy.
I’m not sure just why no zeroes for missed work. I don’t only evaluate whether or not a child understands something. I teach about deadlines, consequences, accountability… real world skills. In the real world, a deadline is a deadline and there are consequences for your choices (unless of course you’re a tenured teacher… then a deadline is really a request and accountability and consequences are only rumors 😉
I had to reread this a couple of times. There was quite a bit that hit a nerve with me. I teach special education and my students have become accustomed to their teachers not expecting very much and being allowed to not complete work or tasks and still pass to the next grade. I believe this is adding to our lowering of standards. Instead of raisning the standards and encouraging our students to achieve these standards, we are basically telling them that it is okay to not perform, we’ll just lower our expectations so you won’t have try and your feelings won’t get hurt. Every year I have to be a “meanie” to get my students to realize that I have expectations and they will be met. I give homework and if it is not completed or turned in, you will get a zero. I have behavior standards and they will be met or there will be consequences. The real world is not “git ‘ er done” it is “do it or lose your job.” Maybe students today aren’t expected to become contributing members to society?
I do like the idea of a trohpy case. I wonder if I could get my husband to build one for me? I will tape papers on my walls inside and outside of the room that are shinning examples of my student’s work. My students glow with pride when I do this.
I also believe in accountability to a point. I teach 6th grade and I must teach all core subjects on a 6th grade level according to 6th grade SPIs. My question is this… Is it my fault that my students aren’t performing on a 6th grade level when they come to me at a 1st, maybe a 2nd grade level? Who is accountable at this point? When did we start passing students who could not read, write or perform basic math operations?
Just a few thoughts…..
Jenn
Jenn, good for you! Keep holding those students accountable and when they are successful adults, you will be one of the reasons for their success. My role as Academic Success Counselor at my school is to work individually with students who don’t get the idea of “doing school.” These students, by virtue, of their own personalities, their educational backgrounds, or home experiences struggle with understanding the importance of follow-through, completion, and most issues of self-efficacy. As I work with them and communicate with their teachers, I am amazed at the polarity of approaches. Some teachers require all work, sooner or later, but are so laissez faire that students don’t take the requirement seriously. Other teachers are so rigid that the student must almost bring physical proof of their illness or the death in the family that prevented them from meeting a requirement. Yes, I am exaggerating a bit, but my point is that all students need to recognize the importance of deadlines and accountability and they learn that from their teachers. You, by having clear guidelines and consistent requirements, are helping your students develop a healthy understanding of real life success.