CII Council for Instructional Improvement

1. CIICouncil for Instructional Improvement San Mateo County Office of Education Friday, March 14, 2014

2. Agenda

3. State and Federal Updates

4. Sustained Professional Development • PLC (Professional Learning Community) • PLN (Professional Learning Network) • TLC (Teacher Learning Circle) • Coaching Based Teams • Department/Grade Level Meetings

5. What is a Professional Learning Community? • Focus on Learning • Culture of Collaboration • Focus on Results

6. Critical Answers • What do we expect students to learn? • Identify essential learnings, power standards, etc  and set a SMART goal. • How will we know when they have learned it? • Common Assessments • How will we respond when they don’t learn? • Develop a systematic response with additional time and support for both students and teachers.

7. Professional Learning NetworkPLC • More informal • Specific intent (CCSS) • Contributes to professional development and knowledge

8. Collegial Learning Structures • TLC – Teacher Learning Circles • Coaching model • Department/grade level meetings

9. Professional Learning NetworksBelmont – Redwood Shores School District SMCOE in collaboration with Belmont-Redwood Shores School District

10. Dr. Michael Milliken, Superintendent Belmont – Redwood Shores School District Setting the stage

11. PLN Structures

12. Principals and District Administrators Superintendent Directors Principals District Leadership Team Teachers Resource Teacher Principals Teacher Leaders Encouraged by site leaders Agreement to learn content and deliver PD District Level Professional Learning Networks

13. Grade Level Teachers meet with grade level colleagues across district to receive PD and share ideas School Site Principals meet with their staff to solicit feedback and provide additional support School Level Professional Learning Networks

14. Implementation Experience

15. Disciplined Pursuit of Less

16. Is it worth the buzz? Sweep or Keep Texts Modify or Magnify Practices

17. TASK Choices

18. Questions…

19. South San Francisco School District CCSS ELA Instructional Shift Review and“Close Analytical Reading” Demonstration

20. Goals for Today Staff Meeting • Understand the Purpose of a Close Analytical Reading Lesson • See the connection between this lesson and the CCSS Instructional Shifts for ELA • See the potential value of this tool in your instructional tool belt • Begin to view the texts we have available as sources for potential Close Reading lessons

21. What is the difference between teaching a text and analyzing a text? • Talk to your group and discuss some of the different connotations of “teaching a text.” • Share out what are some things that come to mind with Teaching a Text • Talk to your group and discuss some of the different connotations of “analyzing a text.” • Share out some of the images and phrases that arise from Analyzing a Text

22. Analogy for Analysis • A master carpenter craftsman teaches his apprentice to analyze the construction of a piece of furniture- A throne from the 1700s • Focus on Appreciation and Understanding of the artisan who created it. • Look for details that show what they did • Look for clues as to howthey may have done it? • Think about and explain why you think they may have made those decisions.

23. CCSS Instructional Shift Review • Increase reading of Informational text • Text Complexity • Academic Vocabulary • Text-Based Questions/Answers-Collaborative Conversations • Increased writing from Sources • Literacy Instruction in all Content Areas

24. Purpose for Close Analytic Reading • Gives students chances to struggle with and analyze a new complex text • Gives time to go deeper into a text • Trains students to look for significant decisions the author made to reveal herself (Person, Purpose, and Point) • Includes the major instructional shifts and the new emphasis on depth vs coverage • Provides a safe investigation of textual clues and their significance. • Provides all students (Els, at, above, and below grade level Readers) the chance, the modeling, and the language to engage with text complexities.

25. Close Reading Possible teaching points For deeper Comprehension Vocabulary and Language Background Knowledge Big Idea • Collaboration Session • Analyze your Text • What are the complexities? • Which challenge would you teach into first, how and why? Text Structure and Features Author’s Purpose Meaning or Message

26. My Brothers’ Flying Machine By Jane Yolen A Close Read Lesson for Grade 4 pg.510-12 Lesson Objectives: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text. I can explain how important details show the author’s main idea that she wants to teach us.

27. New Kind of Lesson • Small part of a Text • Read several times • Talk about what we think-learn from each other • Reading with a pencil • Learn that an Author wants to reveal important lessons about life

28. Review Lesson Rules • Quiet Signal • Pair Share • Face the Speaker and Listen, thinking if I agree, disagree, or have something else to add • Done???? Keep working to understand the Author’s significant lessons for us

29. Annotation Symbols • Confusing or unknown words • Surprising point or perspective ! • Questions about the text ? • Most Valuable Point MVP • Identified an example EX. • Connections between texts

30. “1st Read: Slow for the Flow” • Circle any words you don’t know or are strange to you, underline words or sentences that seem important • Pair Share, Group share • Choral Read

31. Add our thinking to the text clues • Use your double entry T chart to record the textual clues and your thinking. What the text says What the text shows

32. Text Dependent Question #1 Reread our sections for character strengths • Where and how does the author, Jane Yolen, show the Strengthsof the characters? Label the clues with Sand write to explain what strength is shown. • I’ll do one and then you find the rest. • Pair/Share Strongest Strength clue for two characters • Whole Class Share-out

33. Text Dependent Question #2Reread our sections for the Roles of each main character. • Where and how does the author, Jane, reveal the Role (job) of each member of the family? • I’ll do one and then you find the rest. • Pair/Share Strongest Role clue for two characters • Whole Class Share-out

34. Text Dependent Question #3 • Jane Yolen chose to have the sister act as narrator of these facts. How and where in the text does that choice contribute to our learning about these famous men? • Vs. typical disconnected Narrator who does research and tells us all about the men and their accomplishments • Vs. Orville and Wilbur Wright telling their own story

35. Text Dependent Question #4 • Knowing that these men ended up becoming famous for inventing the 1st airplane, which fact from today’s reading do you think is the most significant fact leading to that success and why do you think it is most significant? • Cite your fact from the text and write to try to convince your partner to your way of thinking. • Pair Share – Whole Class exit ticket-Logical??

36. Goals for Today’s Staff Meeting • Understand the Purpose of a Close Analytical Reading Lesson • See the connection between this lesson and the CCSS Instructional Shifts for ELA • See the potential value of this tool in your instructional tool belt • Begin to view the texts we have available as sources for potential Close Reading lessons

37. Thank you for your Patience • Talk to your Grade level partners and talk about possible Close Analytical Reading lesson applications/modifications for a reading lesson at your grade level • If you are interested we could analyze a text together and practice developing a close reading lesson • If you are interested in team teaching or seeing a demonstration lesson, please feel free to ask.

38. PLC’s and the Common Core:A Case Study Genevieve Thurtle Aragon High School, San Mateo English Teacher/PD Coordinator

39. The History Aragon teachers were asked to form “learning teams” in the mid-aughts • no discussion of theory/foundational work of PLC • lots of calendaring (“What are you doing next week?”) • little embedded time • Late-start Wednesdays • Faculty meetings, department meetings and twice-a-month LT meetings (45 minutes)

40. The Shift SMUHSD Adult Learning Initiative (Fall 2011) • Professional Development Coordinators • Instructional Technology Coordinators • Assessment and Data Coordinators • both school-site and district level coordinators • councils for each adult learning group -- meet monthly

41. The Shiftcont... • Training for sites in the fundamentals of PLC work (SMUHSD PLC InstituteJune 2012) • Common Core standards becoming more of a reality

42. Common Core Implementation through PLCs Some systemic changes that have helped our PLCs with CCSS implementation: • moved from traditional schedule → modified block embedded much more collaboration time • all teachers on one PLC only • faculty meetings used for PD that supports PLC work in their CCSS implementation

43. The Proposal( of Aragon’s TOSA team made this proposal to department chair group: • to take all school-site PLCs through the cycle of inquiry with one high-leverage CCSS • Writing Standard #1: Argumentative Writing • Math PLCs did Mathematical Practice Standard #3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others • Essential part of the ELA Performance Task

44. What it Looked Like Fall of 2013 Spent time training PLCs in • what the standard was • looking at models • identifying terms and common definitions • claim, counterclaim, evidence • how the graphic organizer could be used • how to use the SBAC rubric

45. What it Looked Like cont... Fall of 2013 established benchmark dates for PLCs to • teach • assess (formatively) • score • examine the data • reteach

46. For Spring PLCs are expected to go through the cycle of inquiry again with another unit designed around a CCSS • document their work on district CCSS site • identify key lessons, formative assessments, summative assessment for this unit https://sites.google.com/a/smuhsd.org/common-core-resources/unit-of-study-cover-sheet

47. Plans for 2014-2015 After conducting a school-wide CCSS gap analysis with the Reading/Writing standards, we will determine a scope and sequence that will guide PLCs in their curriculum-alignment for next year.

48. What’s been critical to our PLC work • a faculty that values collaboration (over autonomy) • involvement of department chairs in discussions of PLC support and work • an administration that makes PLC work a part of the school vision

49. Faculty Reflections: PLC Benefits “I love the structure of PLC time because my partner and I are producing assignments that will be used in the immediate future. Pedagogical discussions are always necessary, but implementation and revision are a welcomed change to these meetings.” (Social Studies teacher) “Creates a professional working relationship with colleagues that allows you to share and generate new ideas, try new curricular approaches, and really focus on the student outcomes of curriculum. It has helped with integration of common core, especially in the area of developing rubrics to evaluate student work. The PLC emphasis on skill development, formative assessment, evaluation of student work, and then editing curriculum to better develop skills with students has been effective.” (Social Studies teacher)

50. PLC Benefits Strong PLCs positively impact student learning. I think one reason we have such a high 9th grade pass rate is the PLC work (and the great supports -- SES, guided studies, and a separate intensive class). PLCs are most effective when they are small, everyone has one PLC, there is a common prep, and teachers share similar teaching philosophies. I've found all of these in the 9th grade PLC which has made me willing to try new technologies and strategies. (English teacher)