2/3/2015
It’s About Instruction:
Focusing on Adult
Learning
Sue Szachowicz
Senior Fellow, ICLE;
Retired Principal Brockton High
Sharon Wolder
Principal, Brockton High
It’s About Instruction –
For the Adults
The key to Brockton High’s
improvement had nothing
to do with the students. It
was about adult learning.
Principle #6
The key to our
transformation:
ADULT LEARNING
aand SUPPORT
* We know it is
difficult to change
* We can do this
* We will support
each other
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2/3/2015
Replicable and Sustainable Strategies
to Engage and Train the Faculty
Agenda
• Reasoning for a school wide
approach to teaching literacy
• Scripting the Literacy Workshops
• Implementing Literacy Workshops
for the faculty
• Samples of literacy workshops
Remember this?
Grade 10 MCAS Results
MCAS 1998
MCAS 1998
Advanced+Proficient
Failure
ELA – 44%
ELA – 22 %
MATH – 7 %
MATH – 75%
A/P =
88%
MCAS
ELA
Pass
Rate =
98.2%
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2/3/2015
A/P =
68%
MCAS
Math
Pass
Rate =
89%
A/P =
55%
MCAS
Science
Pass
Rate =
93%
2013
Readings from Previous Years Include:








Burial at Thebes from Sophocles’
Antigone
Shakespearean Sonnet # 73
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Love in the Time of Cholera by
Gabriel Garcia Marquez (3 pg excerpt)
Making Humus by Composting by Liz Ball
Proof (4 page play excerpt by David
Auburn)
The Trial (2 pg excerpt by Franz Kafka)
2013
ELA MCAS
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2013
2013
Math MCAS
Science MCAS (Biology)
11 Year Demographic Trends
2003
2008
• Another
Language at
home 32.1%
• Another
Language at
home 32.9%
• LEP 8.7%
2014

Another Language
at home 40%
• LEP 12%

ELL 17.2%
• Low Income 57.2
• Low Income 67.3

Low Income 80.23
• Special
Education
Services 10%
• Special Education
Services 10.1%

Special Education
Services 11%
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Even in times of changing
demographics, standards,
testing and accountability,
there are things we can
consistently and effectively do
as instructional leaders to
ensure our students are
academically successful.
We went from trying to out
guess the test
To Be or NOT to Be?
The Great
Shakespearean Lesson
To This…
Literacy for ALL students in ALL classes
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2/3/2015
Principle 4:
Focus, Focus, Focus
If I went into your school and
asked the kids what the most
important LEARNING
objectives were, could they
answer that?
Everybody Writes
1
2
“A leader is best
Write the focus/mission/purpose
of your
when people barely
school as you would define
knowit.
he exists;
Would the
following
stakeholders
answer this
question in the
same way?
when his work is
done, his aim
fulfilled, they will
say:
Stakeholder
Yes
We did it ourselves.”
No
—Lao Tzu
Faculty
Students
Parents
Community
Base Your Focus on Data
Data
“A leader is best
when people barely
know he exists;
when his work is
done, his aim
fulfilled, they will say:
We did it ourselves.”
Decision
Goal
—Lao Tzu
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2/3/2015
Be Political, Be Strategic
“A leader is best
when people barely
know he exists;
when his work is
done, his aim
fulfilled, they will say:
We did it ourselves.”
—Lao Tzu
Don’t ignore the
media’s love of
test scores
Understand the
politics of your district
Literacy for ALL
 First
we defined what literacy
meant for us at Brockton High
 Then we had to bring that to
life in every classroom, every
day.
 Key to our success: It was
about the adults!!!
Brockton High School - LITERACY
LITERACY CHART: READING
MATH
SCIENCE
LITERACY CHART: WRITING
SOCIAL
SCIENCE
SCIENCE
MATH
ENGLISH
ELECTIVE
READING
ENGLISH
 for content ( both literal and inferential )
 to apply pre-reading, during reading and post-reading strategies to all
reading assignments, including determining purpose and pre-learning
vocabulary
 to research a topic
 to gather information
 to comprehend an argument
 to determine the main idea of a passage
 to understand a concept and construct meaning
 to expand one’s experiences
SOCIAL
SCIENCE
ELECTIVE
WRITING
 to take notes
 to explain one’s thinking
 to argue a thesis and support one’s thinking
 to compare and contrast
 to write an open response
 to describe an experiment, report one’s findings, and report one’s conclusion
 to generate a response to what one has read, viewed, or heard
 to convey one’s thinking in complete sentences
 to develop an expository essay with a formal structure
LITERACY CHART: REASONING
LITERACY CHART: SPEAKING
c Brockton High School, 2002
c Brockton High School, 2002
MATH
ENGLISH








SCIENCE
SPEAKING
SCIENCE
SOCIAL
SCIENCE
MATH
ELECTIVE
to convey one’s thinking in complete sentences
to interpret a passage orally
to debate an issue
to participate in class discussion or a public forum
to make an oral presentation to one’s class, one’s peers, one’s community
to present one’s portfolio
to respond to what one has read, viewed, or heard
to communicate in a manner that allows one to be both heard and
understood
ENGLISH
REASONING
SOCIAL
SCIENCE
ELECTIVE





to create, interpret and explain a table, chart or graph
to compute, interpret and explain numbers
to read, break down, and solve a word problem
to interpret and present statistics that support an argument or hypothesis
to identify a pattern, explain a pattern, and/or make a prediction based on a
pattern
 to detect the fallacy in an argument or a proof
 to explain the logic of an argument or solution
 to use analogies and/or evidence to support one’s thinking
 to explain and/or interpret relationships of space and time
c Brockton High School, 2002
c Brockton High School, 2002
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2/3/2015
Where we began…
LITERACY CHART: WRITING
SCIENCE
MATH
ENGLISH
SOCIAL
SCIENCE
WRITING
ELECTIVE






to take notes
to explain one’s thinking
to argue a thesis and support one’s thinking
to compare and contrast
to write an open response
to describe an experiment, report one’s findings, and report one’s
conclusion
 to generate a response to what one has read, viewed, or heard
 to convey one’s thinking in complete sentences
 to develop an expository essay with a formal structure
c Brockton High School, 2002
Everyone can teach writing!!!
Our First Training:
Open Response
OPEN RESPONSE STEPS TO FOLLOW
1. READ QUESTION CAREFULLY.
2. CIRCLE OR UNDERLINE KEY WORDS.
3. RESTATE QUESTION AS THESIS (LEAVING BLANKS).
4. READ PASSAGE CAREFULLY.
5. TAKE NOTES THAT RESPOND TO THE QUESTION.
BRAINSTORM & MAP OUT YOUR ANSWER.
6. COMPLETE YOUR THESIS.
7. WRITE YOUR RESPONSE CAREFULLY, USING YOUR
MAP AS A GUIDE.
8. STRATEGICALLY REPEAT KEY WORDS FROM THESIS
IN YOUR BODY AND IN YOUR END SENTENCE.
9. PARAGRAPH YOUR RESPONSE.
10. REREAD AND EDIT YOUR RESPONSE.
Everyone can teach writing!!!
So, how did we
train our faculty?
TRAINING THE
FACULTY ON
TEACHING LITERACY
SKILLS TO THE
STUDENTS
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2/3/2015
Reminders… Here’s how we
implemented school wide
1. Restructuring Committee targets the skill,
writes a training script. The key is teaching the
teachers HOW to teach it to the kids – We ALL
do it “this way.”
2. Teachers are trained in the Literacy Workshops.
Restructuring members are the trainers, we
model the technique.
3. A calendar of implementation is developed.
4. Teachers use their content as the context to
teach the students the targeted literacy skill
Why We Script Our
Literacy Workshops
If we didn’t script, this may be the
outcome…
And for the students??????
Here’s what the
presenters receive to
ensure the consistency
of the professional
development process:
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The Value of Scripting
When we all get the same message
delivered the same way
1. Collaboration is easier
2. Shared responsibility
3. Students learn the expectations and do not
have guess at what the teacher wants
4. Results oriented
5. Monitoring and revisions are targeted
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2/3/2015
Let’s Begin…
OPEN RESPONSE
Training for School Leaders
Nashville, 2015
Active Reading/
Open Response Writing
Why are we here?
 To improve students’ performance on state
assessments.
 BUT, it’s not just about test taking…
 To provide students with skills that will help
them succeed in their classes, in college,
and in their lives beyond school.
Our Agenda
1
Active Reading Strategies
2
Open Response Writing Steps
3
Using the Rubric
4
The Implementation Process
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2/3/2015
Active Reading
“Teaching students to
unlock the full meaning of
the texts they read is the
single most powerful
outcome a teacher can
foster.”
-Doug Lemov
http://teachlikeachampion.com/
books/teach-like-a-champion/
Reading for Purpose
Carefully reading and
analyzing the question helps
the student determine the
purpose for reading.
PG page 16
Active Reading Strategy
1. Read the question.
2. a. Circle key direction verbs.
-
For example – write, draw, explain, compare, show, copy
b. Underline important information.
- Often there is information in a question that is irrelevant to
finding the answer
3. In your own words, write what the
question is asking you to do.
4. Develop your plan to answer the question.
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2/3/2015
PG page 16
Steps 1-3
1. Read the question, prompt, or directions.
2. Circle and Underline the question, prompt, or
directions
Circle key direction verbs.
(for example; discuss, contrast, explain)
Underline important information
3. In your own words, write what the question,
prompt, or directions ask you to do.
Sample Question
Describe the contrasting experiences
Dorothy has on the day of the speech
contest. Support your answer with
relevant and specific details from the
excerpt.
Flip the Question
For example:
The contrasting experiences
Dorothy has on the day of the
speech contest are_______,
_______, and __________.
NOTE: This is an important tool to help the students focus
their purpose for reading and begin their writing process
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2/3/2015
PG page 16
Read the Text
Please actively read the text making text
annotations (underline, circle, make
notes in the margin) that are focused on
responding to the question.
(Note: Focusing students on reading to
respond to the question allows students to
read without getting bogged down or
distracted by details that are irrelevant.)
Step Four: Your Plan
1.
2.
3.
Read the question, prompt, or directions.
Circle and Underline the question
Circle key direction verbs.
(for example; discuss, contrast, explain)
Underline important information
(often there is irrelevant information)
In your own words, write what the question, prompt, or
directions ask you to do.
4. Develop your PLAN to answer the
question, prompt or directions.
PG page 18
Open Response Writing
1. ACTIVELY READ QUESTION BY CIRCLING AND UNDERLINING
KEY WORDS.
2. RESTATE QUESTION AS THESIS (LEAVING BLANKS).
3. ACTIVELY READ PASSAGE.
4. MAP OUT YOUR ANSWER.
5. WRITE YOUR RESPONSE CAREFULLY, USING YOUR MAP AS A
GUIDE.
6. STRATEGICALLY REPEAT KEY WORDS FROM THESIS IN YOUR
BODY AND IN YOUR END
7.
SENTENCE.
8. PARAGRAPH YOUR RESPONSE.
9. REREAD AND EDIT YOUR RESPONSE.
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2/3/2015
PG page 18
Mapping the Response
In this reading ….. (look at the flipped question and
restate by filling in the blanks)
Transition: One . . .
Topic
Supporting evidence
Explanation connecting
to thesis
Transition: The next . . .
Topic
Supporting evidence
Explanation connecting
to thesis
Body Paragraph 1
Body Paragraph 2
Transition: The final . . .
Topic
Supporting Evidence
Explanation connecting
t thesis
Body Paragraph 3
To conclude… (connect to thesis)
Writing the Response
Have students
use a
structured
template to
help write a
strong and fully
developed
open response.
Open Response Assessment
Content
Form
8
4
• Response contains a clear
• Response contains
thesis and insightfully answers
sophisticated and effective
all parts of the question.
use of transitions and strategic
• Response provides relevant
repetition indicating complete
and specific textual evidence.
control of the material.
• Explanations of evidence are • Response is logically and
clear and accurate and
effectively organized in its
demonstrate superior
thesis, paragraphing, and
understanding of the material.
sequencing of examples.
• Response contains clear
sentence structure with few or
no errors.
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2/3/2015
Lesson Suggestions
 Analyze two or three representative student
samples showing a high, middle, and low
level response (names omitted, of course).
 Assess responses individually or in pairs
(and then compare to teacher)
 Self- assess response and include
suggestions for improvement
Recap/Next Steps
 You will be receiving a calendar of implementation
 Select an appropriate reading passage that supports
the content that you are teaching that day/week,
challenges the students – it needs to be rigorous!
 Develop a challenging question based on that reading.
Remember do NOT simply ask for a summary – make
them THINK!
 Explain to the students why you are doing this lesson
and why it will help them. WRITING MATTERS!
WRITING IS THINKING!
 Be very directive teaching the process. DO NOT SKIP
ANY STEPS!
Thank you!
We will make a difference!!
“The factor that seems to explain the
most about great performance is
something the researchers call
deliberate
practice…
Deliberate
practice is hard. It hurts. But it
works.
More of it equals better
performance. Tons of it equals great
performance.”
Geoff Colvin, Talent is Overrated
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2/3/2015
Next Steps Monitoring
Figuring out if our practices are effective
*What’s working
*What needs to be revised
*What additional supports do we
need to include to improve outcomes
With Everyone teaching writing…
no one had to do it everyday
Changes in ELA Results Year One
of School Wide Open Response
44% Difference in
Failure Rate
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2/3/2015
Changes in Math Results Year One of
School Wide Open Response
47% Difference in
Failure Rate
Active Reading Strategies
1. Read the question.
2. a. Circle key direction verbs.
 For example – write, draw,
explain, compare, show, copy
b. Underline important information.
 Often there is information in a
question that is irrelevant to
finding the answer.
3. In your own words, write what the
question is asking you to do.
4. Develop your plan/Answer the
question.
57
Restated: Without calculating, find the company with the higher
average number of years worked. Explain how I found the answer.
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2/3/2015
58
Progress Monitoring
Student work was ROUTINELY collected and analyzed by
*Teachers
*Department Heads
*Associate Principal
*Used as the focus in Faculty Meetings
We Asked Ourselves
*What are we doing well?
*What do we need to change?
*How can we improve our progress?
More on Monitoring in
the breakout session
What Gets Monitored is
What Gets Done
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2/3/2015
When we all work together
consistently and effectively
•Expectations are clear
•Rigor increases
•Students practice important
skills repeatedly in relevant ways
•Results improve
Third Key Trend
So what
does this look
like in the different
subject areas?
Rigor + Relevance =
Great Work!!!
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2/3/2015
Emily Dickinson is a poet who often wrote about
her own emotional struggles. In two poems
“Heart, We Will Forget Him” and “Knows How to
Forget” she writes about how difficult it is to
forget. Please read the two poems and the brief
biography and answer the following three
questions:
1. What were some of experiences in her life that
influenced her writing?
2. What do the two poems have in common?
3. How are the two poems different?
Please use one quote from the poems or
biography in each paragraph.
Social Science /History
Open Response
Explain how the article and the spiritual show John
Brown’s commitment to the welfare of black people.
Support your answer with relevant and specific
information from the article and the spiritual.
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Science
Open Response
Algebra
Open Response
Chinese
Open Response
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Art
Open Response
Wellness/P.E.
Open Response
There are ALWAYS
critics…
The cookie-cutter
comment
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2/3/2015
How do students feel about BHS’s
Literacy Focus and Rigor?
Listen to one of our
students…
Practice makes
Proficient!!!!
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence then, is not an act,
but a habit.
Aristotle
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2/3/2015
Professional Development
Adult Learning
Teachers teaching teachers = SUCCESS!
Professional
Development Timeline
2014 –
*Providing Feedback
*Student Use of
Feedback
2012 –
*Reading Visuals
and Active Reading
*Teach Like a
Champion
2010 –
*Jigsaw
*Problem Solving
2008 –
*Revisit Graphing
*Higher Level Thinking
*Change of Levels
2006–
*Previewing
*Summarizing
*Speaking
2004–
*Rigorous Reading
*Designing Complex
Questions
2011 –
*Reading
Visuals
2013 –
*Vocabulary
*Common Core
Transition
*Core Values,
Beliefs and
Expectations
2009 –
*Quickwrites
*Foldables
*Graphic Organizers
2007–
*Assessment
*Graphing
2005–
*Getting to Proficient
*Analyzing Student Work
2003–
*Vocabulary in Context
*Active Reading – questions,
prompts and directions
2001-2002
Open Response Writing
Professional Conversations
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Defining Literacy
MCAS Analysis
Final exams vs Projects
Beliefs about students on IEPs
Course levels
Grading practices and policies
Discipline
Cell phone/electronics use in and outside of the
classrooms
Parent Involvement
Strategies for teaching literacy
Classroom management
College Readiness
School Culture
“Respect/Responsibility”
Professional Goals/DDMs
Advisories and student support
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2/3/2015
Brockton High Literacy Initiative
Another example:
Literacy Workshop in Reasoning:
Reading and Analyzing Visuals.
We noticed that our students were
facing many questions with graphs,
charts, webs, flow charts, etc., but
were not using the information to
solve the problem. That led us to
develop this workshop.
BHS Literacy Workshop
April 28th 2011
Reading Visuals
81
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2/3/2015
Agenda
• Opener – Think and Pair.
• Reading Visuals presentation
• Practice using Reading Visuals 5 step
process
• Discussion and feedback
• Closer – Think, Plan, Share
82
What We Know
There are several types
of visuals used in all
classes and on both
the science and math
MCAS exams.
Students often attempt
to answer the
questions without
fully understanding
the content of the
visual.
83
Reading Visuals
The process of reading a visual
begins with understanding and
analyzing the given
information BEFORE
attempting to answer the
questions or solve a problem.
84
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2/3/2015
Reading Visuals
• Introductory
Information
•Title
•Key or
Legend
•Labels and
parenthetical
information
•Correlations
85
5 Steps for Reading Visuals
1. Identify the type of visual
2. Determine the topic of the visual
3. Examine the given information from the
visual (including all introductory text)
4. Develop predictions, deductions, inferences
or conclusions about the visual
5. Analyze the questions and determine the
information needed from the visual
86
5 Steps for Reading Visuals
Practice Steps 1-4 using the math data below.
87
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2/3/2015
Your Turn
5 Steps for Reading Visuals
1. Identify the type of visual
2. Determine the topic of the visual
3. Examine the given information from the
visual (including all introductory text)
4. Develop predictions, deductions, inferences
or conclusions about the visual
5. Analyze the questions and determine the
information needed from the visual
88
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Looking Ahead
• The May 5th faculty meeting will be in
department and will focus on using the Reading
Visuals Steps with content specific graphs, tables
and diagrams
• Over the next few weeks we will all use visuals in
classes to help students develop stronger reading
and reasoning skills
• Our goal is to improve student achievement
across the board and see gains in the science and
math MCAS exam scores
90
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2/3/2015
Closer
Think – Plan – Share
Identify a visual or type of visual you will
use to teach students the Reading
Visuals Steps.
Describe how the steps for reading
visuals will help your students improve
their reading and reasoning skills.
91
We have the power to improve
student achievement!
Thank you
92
How do we ensure our message is
consistent?
The Script
Slide #
1
Power Point Slide
Script
Opener
AS YOU ENTER SIT AT THE TABLE WITH THE COLOR THAT
MATCHES YOUR STICKY NOTE
Everybody Writes:
Make a prediction about the connections
between Reading Visuals and Active Reading of
directions, prompts or questions.
1
As faculty enters the room,
instruct them to sit in their
color group and begin the
Everybody Writes (EW). This
is an individual opening
activity that will not be
discussed.
Time
Find
place 1
min
EW – 2
minutes
93
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Slide #
2
Power Point Slide
Time
Script
Reading Visuals and Active
Reading Literacy Objectives
We will REASON to make predictions
and to explain and interpret relationships
We will READ to apply pre-reading
strategies
We will WRITE to generate a response and
SPEAK to convey our thinking
2
1
Today we are focusing on Reading
Visuals and Active Reading strategies. min
Our objective is to combine the
strategies to create a process that will
help students:
Reason to make predictions
Explain and interpret relationships
Apply pre-reading strategies
Generate a written a response and
Convey thinking through speaking
94
How did we incorporate these
Literacy Skills in every discipline?
The Reasoning Skills Chart develops
the higher level math skills.
Two examples of a
Reading Visuals lesson
from a Wellness class
Topic: Bullying
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REMEMBER:
It’s about the adults,“Anot
leader isthe
best kids!
when people barely
know
he
exists;
We taught ourselves
to teach
when his work is
his aim
these literacy skills todone,
the
students.
fulfilled, they will say:
We did it ourselves.”
And we will ALL do it THIS
—LaoWAY!
Tzu
DELIBERATE PRACTICE WORKS!!!
Instructional Leadership
Think, write and then share –
What are your most effective
instructional practices currently?
What is one goal you set for yourself
as an instructional leader for this
coming school year to improve the
instruction in your school or district?
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2/3/2015
THANK YOU!
Sue Szachowicz
Senior Fellow, ICLE
Retired Principal, Brockton High School
Sharon Wolder
Principal
Brockton High School
34