A New Homework Strategy

The completion of homework remains a point of focus for some students when analyzing their achievement in particular courses. Some students find it challenging to complete assignments for a variety of reasons. When class grading policies incorporate homework grades this can have a significant impact on a student's grade. This can also be a point of frustration for parents, teachers and counselors.

Typically the goal of homework is to apply a concept that was introduced in class or to enter class the next day with prerequisite knowledge necessary for productive class discussions or group work. The goal is not to produce a grade, but to further student learning and understanding. Grading homework is an extrinsic motivator that does not impact some students. Homework that does not focus on student learning and understanding is graded for compliance.

I like the idea of providing students who miss an assignment the opportunity to complete the assignment. Myron Dueck, Assistant Principal of Summerland Secondary School in British Columbia shared an incomplete assignment form that he has students submit. This was shared in the March edition of Educational Leadership. When students complete this form they must select from a list of Interventions that are available to them. These may include extra help sessions, study hall, viewing a tutorial, or any other intervention that they will utilize to complete the assignment.

By providing an incomplete grade and a clear intervention plan to complete the assignment the student is provided with choice and a motivation to not have an incomplete for the course grade. There are many variations to this idea, but I believe this is a concept that is worth exploring with our at-risk students.

Identifying the Gaps Using Flipped Instruction

I recently read Salmon Khan's book The One World School House.  The book chronicles the history of the Khan Academy. It also presents alternative methods of instruction and curriculum design that emphasises personalized learning and pacing. I enjoyed the text and found myself in agreement with much of the content. 

One of the pilot programs that the Khan Academy setup involved a mathematics class. A class was designed in which the curriculum assigned was based solely on the Khan Academy. Students would work through the practice problems, view videos when they required direct instruction, and work with their teacher/facilitator for extra help. The resources and structure for this implementation are available on the Khan Academy website. While this concept of flipped learning and personalized planning is not a new idea their selection of "where to start" was unique. Rather than having all of the students in this Algebra I course start with Algebra I, the students started with simple addition and worked their way up through the math concepts.

The idea of starting from the beginning provided an opportunity for students to fill the gaps in their mathematical knowledge. If they struggled with a particular math topic in earlier grades or possibly just a had a "bad day" when a certain concept was taught the result may be a gap in knowledge that follows them.  What is interesting is that they were able to meet the requirements of Algebra I even by starting with addition because of the autonomy, personalization and accessibility offered by the Khan Academy. The class that followed this instructional shift recognized a significant increase in performance. One would assume that this method provided each student with the remediation that they needed in the most efficient manner.

In high schools across the country students are placed into remedial math courses if they have not passed a high stakes test required for graduation. These classes are test prep classes that prepare students to retake the assessment. I wonder if a better placement is to identify at-risk student preemptively and assign them a course based on the principles of the Khan Academy pilot?

 

Formative Assessment As A Closure Activity

As we develop units of study our focus starts on what we want students to know, how will they demonstrate that knowledge and how will we assess that knowledge. If we integrate the universal design for learning framework we effectively represent content in a variety of ways, provide options and variation for students to apply what they learned and for us to assess, and we have a focus on engaging students in a variety of ways. Regardless of the variations and framework of our lessons the use of effective closure should have a place. How do we provide students with an opportunity to reflect on a lesson and connect their experiences to the lesson objective? Can a closure activity also be a formative assessment?



The use of exit cards is an effective closure activity that provides us with a formative assessment of student learning. This may be a sticky note or index card in which students provide answers to one or more prompts. This may be as simple as:

• "What are three things you learned today?"


• "What is something that is confusing you about today's lesson?"

Questions may be more content specific.

• "What are the three major events that led to the New Deal"? 

The 3-2-1 Exit Card provides a consistent framework:

1. What are three things that you learned in class today?
2. What are two questions that you still have?
3.  What is one aspect of the class that you enjoyed or did not enjoy.



Some teachers have students post their exit cards to a board as they exit the room. This provides a quick visual for teachers to review responses and modify instruction the next day based on the results. Online discussion boards provides a collaborative approach to exit cards. Using this method students may post and respond to each others answers allowing for an extension of the class discussion as well as opportunities for peer to peer instruction.

Moving From Passive Learning to Active Learning With Graphic Organizers

How do we effectively convey information/content to students to ensure that they not only comprehend it, but can then represent this new knowledge in meaningful ways? How can we accommodate students that struggle with curating important information and managing abstract ideas? What strategies can we employ to aid information retention? The use of Graphic Organizers provide students and teachers with a tool to organize important ideas logically and visually. 

Graphic organizers provide student and teachers with a resource to visually present important information in a logical format that can simplify the transition of applying that knowledge. For example, a History Frame graphic organizer may be useful to aid in comprehension of Social Studies topics. A History Frame will ask students to identify when and were an event took place, the problem, the stakeholders, the key events, what was the result and what was the future impact.

Graphic organizers may also be useful for students to better understand what they already know and still need to investigate.  A KWL chart is a great resource for students to identify what they know about a topic, what they would like to learn more about and then what they have learned. This type of graphic organizer can be used for a Do Now at the beginning of the lesson and then again during the closure as they identify what they learned and would like to explore further.

There are many types of graphic organizers that can serve a variety of purposes. These valuable instructional tools are widely available on the web for free downloads. Completion of graphic organizers by students may serve as a formative assessment for teachers as they uncover the thought process of students as well as their level of understanding. English language learners will benefit from being able to visually organize small chunks of text in a logical order to complete a task or demonstrate understanding.

Here are some resouces for graphic organizer:

Write Design Graphic Organizers

Thinking Tools

UDL Graphic Organizers

The Importance of Asking Great Questions

Dan Pink recently published a short video that speaks of the importance of asking good questions. When preparing lesson plans a focus on essential questions and enduring understandings can transition a lesson from teacher disseminating information to active learning through conversation, cooperative learning and the development of new questions and learning.

 



Additional Information on Effective Questioning:

A Questioning Toolkit

 

Responding to Student Needs With Instructional Strategies

A number of established and best practices in education emulate the principles of inclusive education.  Educators today are better equipped to facilitate meaningful and inclusive education for students at risk.  However, a holistic and comprehensive school plan is an integral component of a school wide effort to provide all students with the education they are entitled to receive.  We must continue to enhance and expand the continuum of options available to our students.  Principles of this systematic plan include staff that is trained in successful instructional strategies, committed to teaching and progress, reflective on student performance, and responsive to the needs of all students.

In looking at instructional strategies, a comprehensive review of the lesson framework and the selection of strategies and practices contained is the first step. We can best meet the needs of our students by designing a classroom environment that provides opportunity for all. Do we design lessons that provide individuals the opportunity to connect prior learning, assess their understanding of content, collaborate with peers, ask questions and explore new learning?

When designing instruction to meet the varying needs of our students the instructional strategies we select are the first step to level the playing field. My colleague and I have designed an interactive pyramid of intervention to provide a toolbox for teachers. This toolbox aides in lesson design, instructional strategies and targeted interventions.  An exploration of the interactive Lesson Framework provides teachers with a toolbox of instructional strategies for each area of the framework.

Active Reading Strategies K-12

I have had the opportunity to work with students and faculty across all grade levels K-12. This experience and exposure has without a doubt made me a better teacher, observer, and most importantly filled my toolbox.

My visits to early elementary classrooms offer insight into differentiation and independent learning at a level of depth that is difficult to duplicate in higher grades. Many of the schools I have worked in implement balanced literacy programs with a focus on Guided Reading, Centers, and Reading / Writing workshop. During these early years of literacy instruction there is an emphasis on the skills of what good readers and writers do. Students are grouped by reading level and afforded the opportunity to work with their peers in small groups to learn and apply these skills.

During this time students learn pre-reading strategies such as activating prior knowledge, defining a purpose for reading and identifying text structures.  They also build skills to be implemented while reading such as questioning, making connections, managing speed, predicting,  how to infer and attack vocabulary. After reading students learn strategies such as "how to review", summarizing, and most importantly clarifying questions to ask.

These strategies, while taught as skills in early elementary, are proven to be vital for reading comprehension and learning. They are skills that should not be limited to a Language Arts classroom. Application of these skills should be integrated into all subject areas. As students move to higher grades the focus shifts from skill based literacy instruction to mastery  of content and analysis of text.

During my time coordinating I&RS teams I have worked with a number of students who struggle with reading comprehension. While the struggles manifest themselves in a variety of ways, the consensus is to develop reading skills to aid in comprehension. For that purpose i have found that the instructional strategies and skills taught in early elementary have a place in grades 6-12. All of our teachers would benefit from receiving direct instruction in "what good readers and writers do" in order to integrate these skills into their courses.

One of my favorite books regarding the teaching of reading comprehension strategies is Mosaic of Thought. While this book is typically found in elementary PD sessions or book clubs, it would be well placed in a high school as well.  US History II teachers would benefit in turn-keying instruction in monitoring meaning, activating prior knowledge, questioning, drawing inferences, imagery, and analyzing text structure.

As schools look towards increased differentiation and the elimination of levels our teachers need to fill their toolbox with strategies to reach all learners.  Recognizing that the teaching of reading strategies transcends grade levels and subjects is a great first step.

I have developed an active reading strategies chart that we share with teachers and students to aid in the development of comprehension. Active Reading Strategies Chart

Why are we still teaching cursive writing?

I have presented a number of workshops for teachers of all grade levels. The topic of these workshops range from technology infusion, to Smartboards 101, to developing your personal learning network. In each of these workshops we review best practices in instructional technology. We talk about differentiation, web 2.0, student publishing, authentic experiences, multimedia, and collaboration. The outcomes we discuss reflect a belief in promoting higher order thinking, creativity, and student learning.

In most cases the feedback from these discussions is very positive. The value of such practices is well received by participants. The sessions end with a high level of motivation and excitement. In almost every workshop however, a variation of this question is always asked, "What about typing?" "These projects are great but my students struggle with typing. They are hunting and pecking. It makes the completion of these projects sometimes take longer then they should. There is a also a level of frustration among students because of their typing skills?"

This is a very valid argument and a concern worth talking about. What about typing? What are we doing to provide our students with basic keyboarding skills? State core curriculum content standards are being revised. The model that best meets these standards is an infusion of technology into the curriculum areas. That means no more computer specials. The technology instruction is infused into the core subjects. Can a student really learn how to type by taking part in a once a week 40 minute computer class anyway? Even if that is the only thing taught all year? The research says no. In order to effectively teach keyboarding to students it must be part of the weekly curriculum. It must be taught for 90+ minutes at a minimum.  That means something has to be replaced by it?

What about cursive writing? This is an interesting thought and one that I am sure will drum up some controversy. How often do we use cursive writing anymore as adults? Do we see the use of cursive writing growing or diminishing? I know that I only write in cursive when signing my name. That is it! Most educators ask students to turn in assignments typed. With the advancement of technology we will be seeing more and more mobile devices in the classroom. Students will be accessing digital textbooks and collaborating electronically with peers, teachers, and global partnerships. I do not see too much cursive writing going on there?

My wife is a reading specialist and literacy coach. She argues that cursive writing assists in the development of motor skills and contributes to reading fluency. She also states that if it is not taught, it is an art that will be completely lost. I will have to gather some more research from her before i provide a more in-depth explanation in this blog post.

Can we replace the significant amount of time we spend teaching cursive writing with keyboarding? Which will have a positive impact on student learning? What are the repercussions of such an action?

My discussion here is based on my own thoughts. I have not cited specific research on the topic supporting the pros and cons. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic as I continue my research.

The New Student Textbooks

I have been spending  a lot of time lately thinking about the  future of "the textbook". During the holiday season that  just passed there was a lot of press about E-book readers. The most familiar are the  Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook. I am facinated with the possibilities of such a technology. For those of you that are not aware, these devices are e-book readers. E-books are digital copies of textbooks. They can be read on a reader that  is about the size of a paperback book. E-book readers can hold a large number of books. They have batteries that last for days and the screen is such that they can be read in any type of light.

I am immediately focussed on education. Can such a device replace our current textbooks? There are some immediate advantages. These devices are compact and portable. The cost of the texts are significantly cheaper. In the  consumer market a new release  best selling hard cover that typically sells for $25.00 is $9.99 in e-book format. Information in e-book format can be updated quite simply. All that is required is a simple update to be downloaded. When Pluto is not a planet anymore the textbook is updated the  next day!

Currently these readers sell for $200 to $400.  The average student textbook is $60-$80 a piece. That means that each student is carrying around $400-$500 worth of textbooks at a minimum. The real kicker is these books are not dynamic. The content is essentially old by the time it reaches  the student. It is not living!

E-books are not only limited to e-book readers. They can be read on laptops, netbooks,and smartphones. In considering the classroom environment i am not sure that a device like a Kindle is the answer for students. Is there more value in providing a student with a full blown laptop or netbook? There is obviously price differences to consider.

I am starting to think that none of these options is the answer. The technology we seek may not  be available yet. We need a device with all of the features of a kindle as well as the web and keyboarding accessibility of a laptop. It needs to be mobile, powerful and compact. However, it must not inhibit the productivity of a student because of its size constraints. Of course we can not forget it must be cheap.

I am excited to see the next generation of tablets that are coming to market. I am most interested in the Apple Tablet. This may be a device that can do what we need it to do within the constraints we need for a school implementation. The problem I see is the price point will still be above the reach of many schools..... for now anyway.

I envision  each student with a mobile device loaded with each core text. This text is 3-dimensional. Students can sift through pages while following links to multi-media clips, resources on the web, instructor added annotations and content, audio recordings, and collaborative tools. They can highlight, copy/paste, bookmark, share links with other students, and communicate with others directly in the device. This device will be inexpensive, wifi enabled, ultra-portable and just the right size (somewhere between a netbook and Kindle????? It will operate by touch and voice. This device will transform the classroom and how we view textbooks.

Do your students know how you learn?

I took part in a very interesting Edtech talk tonight on the topic of RSS feeds and their roll in education. One of the presenters mentioned the above question that she had been presented in a previous workshop. Do your students know how you learn?

I thought this was a very profound statement and an excellent transition  into introducing RSS feeds into your classroom. I use RSS feeds everyday. It has become a daily part of my professional and personal life. In fact, I wonder how I got by without them.

I was introduced in this discussion to some interesting ways that educators are implementing them with their students. I wanted to share some of these to anyone who is listening???

• One of the presenters discussed how she has all of her students create accounts on pageflakes. She then has each student create a tab for each topic they are researching for classes. She has them pull in RSS feeds on that topic. 


• Create a current events tab. They use this for their current events discussion.


• Create tabs that you can share with your students. Pageflakes and igoogle allow you to share tabs with other users. One teacher shares a tab on Cyberbullying. They use the updated feeds as topics for discussion.


• Create a Tab for your department or grade level and share it with them. Discuss updated content at grade level or team meetings.


• Have students pull in homework, assignments or links of interested generated by the teacher.


• Some sites allow you to save searches as RSS feeds. Students can save searches to their aggregators as feeds.

Those are some of the great ideas that was discussed during this session. I hope you find it useful. One of the topics that was brought up is the lack of RSS feeds on elementary sites. By using www.dapper.net you can create RSS feeds for any content on any page. It is a very cool tool. For elementary students you can create the feeds and the tab and then share it with them.