Middle School Instructional Practices

1. Middle School Instructional Practices April 4, 2012 Joan Gillis CAIU 15

2. PA’s RtII Components (Secondary) Universal access to high-quality, standards-aligned core instruction Relational support Research-based instruction/intervention, instructional methodologies and strategies Multi-Tiered Support systems Data-based decision making Professional learning

3. What Are The Intrinsic Instructional Practices That Guide Middle Schools To Academic Achievement ?

4. Factors that Impact Student Achievement Team Practices Classroom Practices Small group active instruction Integration and interdisciplinary practices Authentic Instruction assessment Critical thinking practices Reading, writing ,math skill practice • Curriculum coordination & integration • Coordination of assignments, assessments, and feedback • Parent involvement • Contact with other building resource staff

5. Effective Middle School Teams… maintain high levels of academic rigor (What does it sound like ?) B. have curriculum that is meaningful, relevant, and connects to subject matters (How do you know?) C. provides opportunities for active learning that goes beyond the boundaries of team and classroom into the community (What does it look like ?) D. Fosters a positive climate that stems from mutual Respect and beneficial interactions (Slang for formative assessment and feedback)

6. Characteristics of Effective Teachers • Awareness of purpose • Task orientation • High expectations for students (rigor) • Enthusiastic, clear, and direct • Lessons consistently well prepared • Students on task • Strong classroom management skills • Predictable routines • Systematic curriculum-based assessment to monitor student progress Tableman, 2004

7. Most middle grade educators agree that for schools to improve student outcomes, teachers must provide instruction that is engaging and developmentally appropriate Engagement must be planned with management Skills taking center stage. National Forum to Accelerate Middle School Reform, 2002

8. Active Engagement is defined as… Active learning that involves providing opportunities for students to meaningfully talk and listen, write, read, and reflect on the content, ideas, issues and concerns of an academic subject. Meyers & Jones, 1993 Capital Area Intermediate Unit

9. What is Active Participation? Opportunities to Respond • Verbal Responses (partners or choral response) • Written Responses • Action Responses All students respond! Capital Area Intermediate Unit

10. Why Active Engagement ? ENGAGEMENT AND MOTIVATION High levels of active engagement during lessons are associated with higher levels of achievement and student motivation. Ryan and Deci, 2000 Capital Area Intermediate Unit

12. As Administrators you can And should observe your teachers with active engagement in mind… Teacher: ___________________________ Grade: ________ Time: ________ Subject: ___________________________ Providing them with feedback is key

13. CAN ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT SUCCEED WITHOUT FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT ? CAN FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT FOSTER CHANGE AND GROWTH WITHOUT FEEDBACK ?

14. Harvard’s “most effective “courses The big idea is the importance of quick and detailed feedback. Students overwhelmingly report that the single most important ingredient for making a course effective is getting rapid response on assignments and quizzes -Richard Light

15. Feedback iscrucial One of the chief benefits of active engagement is that it allows us to give corrective feedback. In general, this feedback is most effective when it is explicit and specific. It is crucial that the teacher construct the feedback with certain basic understandings of what effective feedback looks like.

16. What is feedback ? Think of the Best Feedback System you were ever in ? Discuss and share What is the common thread that you heard ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phDqyJloZ4g Grant Wiggins, PDE Conference,2012

17. The best feedback… • Most common answers: • Timely • Ongoing • User-friendly • Trustworthy, credible • Consistent • Specific and helpful for improving

18. Consider this… • It’s OK to praise… • It’s OK to give advice… • It’s OK to ask questions • But praise doesn’t make you better • But too much advice ,too quickly , doesn’t clarify the result • But too many questions dodge the issue of helping the learner

19. Feedback defined … is useful information on one’s effect or results given a specific goal Advice is defined… Useful information on what to do to improve performance, based on the feedback and the goal(s) Wiggins,PDE,2012 KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

20. The Feedback Link • Correction can’t happen without feedback • Feedback can’t happen without monitoring (formative assessment) • Monitoring can’t happen without student responses through active engagement • Grant Wiggins

21. What Are The Intrinsic Instructional Practices That Guide Middle Schools To Academic Achievement ? Active engagement Formative assessment Feedback

23. THANK YOU !!!

24. 7 Point Scale for Teacher Practice Survey • 1 = never • 2 = once a year • 3 = several times a year • 4 = quarterly • 5 = monthly • 6= weekly • 7 = daily • Small group active instruction • Integration and interdisciplinary practices • Authentic Instruction and assessment • Critical thinking practices • Reading, writing ,math skill practice

25. Resources Books Educative Assessment, Grant Wiggins Assessment for Learning, Paul Beck Student-Involved Assessment for Learning, Rick Stiggins Internet Resources British Website on Formative Assessment Grantwiggins.wordpress.com

26. Three Elements Of Effective Pedagogy According To Marzano • Instructional strategies • Management techniques • Curriculum design

27. Benefits for Students When Teaming and Common Planning Takes Place… • Less depression ( student self survey result) • Fewer behavior problems • Higher self-esteem • Improved student achievement scores • (especially with high percentages of free and reduced lunch Students) • National Center for Education Statistics