TST BOCES Inquiry Team Training

1. TST BOCES Inquiry Team Training DEVELOPING AN INQUIRY-BASED FOCUS ON STUDENT LEARNING AUGUST 2011

2. Introductions: Your Network Team • Cheryl Covell – Data Analyst • Beth Dryer – Literacy Instructional Specialist • Heather Sheridan-Thomas – Assistant Superintendent for Instruction • Allison Sitts- Math Instructional Specialist AND two new additions • Jennifer Gondek – Instructional Specialist for Inclusive Education • Lauren Faessler – focusing on Inquiry, Assessment, & Principal Evaluation • Plus Amanda Verba- Youth Development

3. Introductions - You • We have too many people to do individual introductions, but I would like us all to get a little sense of who is here this week. • I’m going to read a number of short statements. If it is a statement that you could say, “That’s Me” about, please stand up and say “That’s Me.”

4. Race to the Top Four Assurances: • Adopting internationally-benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the workplace • Recruiting, developing, retaining, and rewarding effective teachers and principals • Building instructional data systems that measure student success and inform teachers and principals how they can improve their practices • Turning around the lowest-performing schools

5. Assurance Area: Standards and Assessments • Adopt Common Core State Standards • Align high school graduation requirements with college and career success. • Redesign the NYS Assessment Program, in alignment with the Common Core Standards, to incorporate formative and interim assessments, more performance-based with increased rigor and assessment of 21st century competencies.

6. Standards & Assessments: School Commitments • Adopt the Common Core Learning Standards • Implement new, high-quality assessments as required by the State.

7. Assurance Area: Data Systems to Support Instruction • Complete New York’s P-20 longitudinal education data system; build a Data Portal through which educators can access information on student achievement, school climate, and best practices, enabling them to analyze student needs, identify problems, determine interventions, differentiate instruction, and evaluate results. • Create an early warning system to identify and intervene to help students at risk of falling behind and dropping out.

8. Data Systems to Support Instruction: School Commitments • Use data to improve instruction, which will entail collecting data as required by the State, providing professional development to staff in how to use the data to improve instruction.

9. Assurance Area: Great Teachers and Leaders • Redesign teacher and school leader preparation programs. • Implement a comprehensive teacher and principal evaluation system including student achievement measures, which would comprise 40% of teacher and principal evaluations and ratings. • Create incentives for highly effective teachers in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math), teachers of English language learners, and teachers of students with disabilities, to take assignments in our high-need schools.

10. Great Teachers and Leaders: School Commitments • Conduct annual evaluations using the new statewide evaluation system, then use the results of these evaluations to inform a variety of decisions. • Use the results of the new annual evaluation system and student performance data to tailor high-quality professional development and other effective supports to teachers and principals.

11. Everything is Connected

12. Timeline for Implementation

13. Timeline for Implementation

15. Common Core Learning Standards: ELA and Math • Shifts in priorities, materials, focus areas • You will hear much about these shifts throughout today’s sessions.

16. Data – Shift and Shift Again • Initial model of “Inquiry Team” – small number of teachers in each building analyze data and make recommendations • Current model of “Data Driven Instruction” with ALL teachers involved in cycles of collecting and analyzing data about their own students’ performance, adjusting instruction, collecting more data…. • In the new model, the Inquiry Team members become facilitators and cheerleaders of DDI.

17. Teacher & Principal Effectiveness Use of Teacher Evaluation rubrics focused on: • Cognitive Engagement • Constructivist Learning • 21st Century Skills

18. Keeps Happening

19. SHIFTS Keep Happening in Education • Educating more/all students • Standards based education • Changes in assessments • Focus on using data to inform instruction

20. Two Ways You Can Respond

21. Cynicism

22. Flat Spiral

24. UPWARD SPIRAL

25. What makes me hopeful?

26. Mathematics Common Core • Focus • Coherence • Mathematical Practices

27. ELA Common Core • Focus on increasing students’ independent ability to read increasingly complex texts • Focus on critical reading and thinking • Clarity within and across grade levels

28. ELA Common Core A strand called “Literacy in History/Social Studies and Technical Subjects”- Valuing the importance of literacy across content area classes.

29. Assessment • Assessments that include meaningful performance based tasks, at a high level of rigor, not all of which are “on demand.” • Increased focus on formative assessment

30. Rigor /Relevance Framework(Successful Practices Network)

31. Teacher Evaluation Rubrics • Focus on students doing the learning, being cognitively engaged, taking ownership.

32. Data-Driven Instruction • Focus on engaging ALL educators in reflecting on multiple sources of data to improve learning for ALL students.

33. What makes you hopeful? • Turn to a person sitting next to you and talk about one or two things that you see as hopeful in all of the current educational reforms.

35. Challenges • Talk to a partner about two or three of the major challenges you see arising as you implement Race to the Top educational initiatives.

36. We are here to support you. • Network Team • Data Experts • Curriculum Experts • Instruction Experts • PLUS • School Improvement Services School Library Services, Cooperative Enrichment Services, Youth Development

37. Network Team Provides • Professional Development & Job Embedded Supports for Teachers & Principals • In the areas of • Common Core State Standards • School Based Inquiry/ Data Driven Instruction • Teacher & Principal Effectiveness

38. Network Team Organization • District Liaisons : Serve as single point of contact for all your needs. Will assist with planning and record-keeping. • Cheryl Covell – Trumansburg , Dryden & Ithaca • Beth Dryer – Candor & South Seneca • Jennifer Gondek = Groton & Newfield • Heather Sheridan-Thomas = Ithaca & Dryden • Allison Sitts = Ithaca & Lansing • Lauren Faessler = Lansing • You still have access to the WHOLE Network Team and all of School Improvement Services.

39. Inquiry Team Training • This week is designed to give you information and resources to move forward in implementing inquiry-based learning, with a focus on the CCLS. • It is also designed to give you time to reflect on your current strengths, your support needs and your next steps.

40. Why didn’t we differentiate? • No consistent building/district experience • In your role as facilitators of this process, looking at material again in a different way is useful. • Some information revisited to develop a common language; some information is new. • Depending on your background with each topic you might adopt different lenses – new learner or facilitator

41. Your Goal for the Training • Given what you’ve heard this morning, you may want to set a personal goal for the training. It might be a goal to stay hopeful or to gather information to help you address one of the predicted challenges. Take a few minutes to reflect and write a personal goal for your learning this week. This is for you and not shared. Take your “Hopes, Challenges, and Goal” sheet with you, to reflect on as you go through the training.

42. Design and Schedule of the Week • Day 1, today, focuses on the Common Core Learning Standards • Today - Choice Sessions • Day Two, Tuesday, focuses on Data Driven-Instruction & beginning Implementation Planning • Day Three, Wednesday, focuses on Resources, as well as Implementation Planning and beginning Action Planning

43. Design of the Schedule • Many sessions “flip-flop” by GROUP, so be sure to note which group you are in. • Planning sessions are in rooms by District. Districts are grouped so that you will have at least 2 Network Team facilitators in each room. At least one of you District’s Network Team liaisons will be in your room with you. • Specific planning will happen by building in those District-based rooms.

44. Got it! Want it! Questions • Each day will end with an opportunity for you to communicate what you are getting that is helpful, what you still need, and questions you may have. • Any questions that are not immediately answerable will be researched and answers shared with all participants via email.

45. Go forth and learn! • Please remember to sign up for CHOICE sessions on your way out. • Please arrive at your next session ready to begin by 10:00. • There are signs but also feel free to ask for directions. Circle of Courage is here in Smith Building, at the other end of the building; A-14 is in the Admin Building across the grassy quad.