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Tools, Tips, & Tricks

Looking at Student Work

10/31/2016

 
We all know the scene too well: a teacher packing up to go home for the evening or weekend with a large stack of papers or student projects to grade.  After hours of reading, writing comments, and giving feedback, the teacher hands back the assignment only to watch the students quickly read it and stash it in their folder where it is never to be seen again.  In this scenario there is little opportunity to use the feedback provided in a constructive manner for improvement and learning. 

The April 2016 edition of Educational Leadership offers several articles, perspectives, and strategies to enhance reviewing student work for increased student achievement.  These strategies sometimes involve more time in class for feedback, but saves the teacher grading time outside of class. 
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Here are some key takeaways to consider:
  1. “The only important thing about feedback is what students do with it,”  (Dylan Wiliam, page 10).
  2. “A few well-designed questions are better than many superficial ones” (Kroog, Hess, Ruiz-Primo, page 22).
  3. “Showing students other students’ work, critiquing it, and trying to make improvements is powerful because it is a way that most people learn” (Rob Traver, page 68).
  4. “As they approach a new unit, students should focus on what they’re going to learn.  We want students to think about how they will be different after doing this project" (Guskey and McTighe, page 38).
  5. “If students aren’t skilled in listening, they won’t benefit from feedback” (Hattie, Fisher, Frey, page 16).
  6. “Grading is more of a challenge of effective communication than a simple documentation of achievement” (Guskey and Jung, page 50).
  7. “Learning progressions based on decades of research on how students learn can help teachers take a more fruitful look at student work” (Kobrin and Panorkou, page 32).
 
All ideas pulled from: The April 2016 issue of Educational Leadership, “Looking at Student Work,” (Volume 73, Issue 7).
This post brought to you by Erin Broviak, APOSA overseeing Career and Technical Education

Tools for Scaffolding Academic English for English Learners

10/19/2016

 
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English Learners are the fastest growing student population in Minnesota. According to the Minnesota Department of Education’s English Learner Fall Report, the number of students who are English Learners has grown by 300 percent in the last 20 years. For this reason, among others, it is important that teachers have tools that they can use to scaffold academic English for EL students.  Here are few more tools you can use that do not take a lot of prep and can assist your English Learners in acquiring academic language (click here to see previous tools).

Connect new information to prior learning or experiences
An anticipation guide can be a great tool to assist students as they access prior knowledge and transfer to new knowledge.
  • Prepare a list of true and false statements from the text you will be reading.
  • Students select their answer prior to reading.  Discuss with a partner or group. Students may change their answer after the discussion.
  • After reading, students can go back to their guide and make any changes as needed.
For an example of an Anticipation Guide, visit this Adolescent Literacy webpage. 

Provide opportunities for students to talk
Think-Pair-Write-Share is a strategy to allow students the opportunity to express their thoughts orally before writing.
  • First allow students time to think about a question or topic.
  • Students then talk in pairs or small groups about the question or topic.
  • Students do a quick write after their partner/small group conversations.
  • Students then share their thoughts.
4 to 1 is a reading strategy that allows students to talk about critical concepts.
  • Place students in groups of 4.
  • Each student selects a word or phrase that captures the important aspect of the reading or discussion.
  • Students share their word/phrase with their group.  Groups come to a consensus as to the one big idea of the reading or discussion.
  • Group selects a spokesperson for the group who shares their group’s big idea.
For more strategies to incorporate interaction and talk, visit this Center for Applied Linguistics webpage and click the PDF file at the bottom of the page.


Use graphic organizers to help students organize their thoughts
An “H-Map” is a variation on a Venn Diagram for compare and contrast. 
  • Create an “H” with two different contrasting thoughts on either column of the uppercase H.
  • Place the similarities on the connecting part of the H.
An “E-Chart” is an organizer you can use for main idea and details.
  • Place the main idea on the left side and the details on the right of it (to make the letter E).
For more graphic organizers, visit this Education Place website.  

This post brought to you by Katie Miller, K-12 EL Implementation Associate

Five Ways to Cure the Blurts 

10/17/2016

 
It’s that time of year!  Students have gotten to know each other and are feeling more comfortable with one another and undoubtedly your “blurters” have revealed themselves.  Here are some tried and true ways to get students to share their ideas in a more productive way. 

1. Set expectations 
Remind your students of how you want them to share their ideas.  One author calls this “important participation.”  It might sound something like this: “I know you are all anxious to share your thoughts and you have a lot to say.  I’m going to give you a number of chances to turn and talk to a partner as well as time to share.  To keep things interesting and fun I need you to keep your comments or thoughts in your head until we have a talking time."  For students who are having a particularly hard time, schedule a one-on-one conversation to talk with them about your pride in their great ideas but your goal for them to let others share as well. 

2. Set Up Routines that give students wait time 
When you ask a question, give students time to stop and jot down a few ideas before they share.  This gives everyone time to think and reassures students that their ideas won’t be lost. 

3. Plan for academic conversations every ten minutes 
Students are less likely to blurt out if they know they’ll have time to chart. Research suggests that students need two minutes to process information every ten minutes in a lesson.  You can make this work quickly and efficiently by assigning talking partners and by planning these stops into your PowerPoints if you use these to help organize your lesson. 
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4. Post your expectations for discussions and refer to them 
Have a discussion with your students about what a productive discussion or contribution looks like.  Create a chart that captures these ideas and refer to them when you need to reteach expectations or redirect behavior. 

5. Give your chronic blurters a bit of one-on-one time
If you know you have a student that has a difficult time waiting to share ideas, try to give them a minute of one-on-one time as they come in the door.  Often this bit of attention will help them feel valued and will make them less likely to steal the show later.  

If you are having a difficult time with one class hour, remember you can connect with your instructional coach for more ideas. 

Ideas inspired by the Scholastic article "Seven Ways to Cure the Blurts: How one teacher curbs disruptions and keeps things running smoothly" by Ruth Sidney Charney. 
This post brought to you by Heather Willman, APOSA overseeing Secondary Curriculum and Instructional Coaching

Engaging All Learners in Group Activities

10/7/2016

 
As we help our students develop skills that will suit them well in the world beyond our secondary classrooms, many of us find ourselves moving to more and more partner work, group tasks, and full class discussions and debates. These opportunities help our students to develop collaboration skills and illustrate teamwork, to develop communication skills and think critically—all skills which today’s students need to thrive in the 21st century workforce that awaits them in their not-to-distant futures.
 
The struggle, however, is in ensuring that all students still walk away with deep levels of understanding. Far too often in partnerships, in small groups, and in full-class activities only a few students are actively engaged. Unfortunately, some students choose passivity. When this happens, does it mean that only those few students walk away with the learning? I fear that it does, and it becomes our jobs as their teachers to ensure that all students engage in the learning that we offer them.
 
As we move into more and more collaborative learning environments, here are some strategies to help ensure that all learners are still learning at high levels:
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For Groups of 2-3 Students

Partners A & B

What to do:
  1. Have students partner up and assign one as ‘A’ and one as ‘B’.
  2. Give ‘A’ a specific question to answer while ‘B’ only listens.
  3. Then, provide ‘B’ with a different question to respond t0 while ‘A’ only listens.
Variations:
  • Ask ‘A’ to complete a task, summarize a part of a lesson, or answer a question while ‘B’ observes/listens; afterward, ‘B’ shares what she noticed, captures any missed details, or provides an example pertaining to the what ‘A’ did/discussed.
  • Ask ‘A’ to describe the next step (in say a math problem or science lab) while person ‘B’ then does exactly what student ‘A’ described.
Why this Works:
This ensures that there are equal voices, encouraging shy students to speak up while preventing naturally talkative students from taking over. It also teaches students balance, which is not a skill that many students develop naturally.

More details on this strategy can be found here under “Student Engagement”

Triads

What to Do:
  1. In groups of three, have students number off.
  2. Then, begin by asking ‘student 1’ a question.  This student is the first of the triad.  
  3. After ‘student 1’ responds, keep your reaction to the student’s response silent.  Instead, redirect the response of ‘student 1’ to ‘student 2’ by saying, “Student 2, please give evidence to support or refute what student 1 said.”  
  4. After ‘student 2’ responds, call on ‘student 3’ to evaluate the merits of the response that ‘student 2’ provided.  
  5. Finally, return to the ‘student 1’ and ask him/her to make a final rebuttal or comment on what the classmates had said.  
Variations:
  • Have students do this with a multi-step process where ‘student 1’ does step 1, ‘2’ does step 2, and ‘3’ does step 3.
  • When analyzing a reading, have ‘student 1’ paraphrase the text, have ‘2’ identify the main idea or theme, and have ‘3’ identify 3-4 text excerpts that support the main idea or theme. Finally, return to ‘1’ and have him/her identify what a reader might infer from the text.
  • In math, have ‘student 1’ read the word problem, ‘2’ draw a sketch of the problem, and then ‘3’ writes the equation.
Why this Works:
Just like with Partners A & B, Triads ensures balanced voices and balanced participation within a small group; the addition of a third student, however, allows for more versatility and creativity within the structure of the activity. Additionally, the ‘additive’ element in almost all variations of Triads forces students to see and to work with how other students think. Often, there are multiple routes to the same answer, or various correct answers, and should ‘student 1’ opt to take a route different than what ‘2’/‘3’ were expecting, then the thinking of ‘student 1’ must broaden and thereby deeper learning will occur.   

More details on this strategy can be found here under “Student Engagement”
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For Groups of 4-6 Students

Numbered Heads

What to Do:
  1. Have students count off: if you have groups of six students, students count off 1-6 (they may do this in whatever order they choose). If there is a group with only five students in it, one student will have two numbers.
  2. Then, pose a question or problem to the class and tell the groups that they have a specific amount of time to come to consensus on an answer (the amount of time allotted depends on how open-ended the question is).
  3. Have the students put their heads together and make sure that everyone in the group has the answer(s).
  4. Then, call a number from 1-6 (try using Virtual Dice Roll so students can’t accuse you of “picking on them”). All the students with that number then stand.
  5. Call on all (or just a few) of the students standing to give their groups’ answer(s).
Variations:
  • Ask all students with the called number to go to the board to simultaneously record their group’s answer.
  • If the question has multiple answers, allow each standing student to report just one of their answers. Use the rule, “be additive, not repetitive.”
  • Instead of questions, provide all students with a graphic organizer or similar task: have them work through it in their small group. Then, only collect one from the group—the one whose number is selected. (Added bonus: this equates to less work for you to provide feedback on.)
Why this Works:
When students are assigned to work in groups, particularity groups larger than four or more, it’s common to assign roles. Where roles certainly have their merit, they can also backfire. When one student is assigned to be “recorder” others in that group might hear, 
I guess I don’t have to write any of this down, and thereby may disengage. Likewise, when one student is assigned to be a “reporter” others may hear, I guess I don’t need to really know this if I won’t have to share out later—again, potentially encouraging some disengagement. However, when students know you use Numbered Heads to determine whose work is turned in and/or who shares out, then all must stay engaged for the entire activity.

More details on this strategy can be found here under “Student Engagement”
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For Whole Class Discussions

Random Selection

What to Do:
  1. Establish a method for calling on all students at random. (Tip: my favorite low-tech way is to have each student’s name on a note card and to then to shuffle those note cards prior to each class to ensure they're always in a different order; whereas, my favorite high-tech way is to use the iPad app Randomly on my teacher iPad [there are desktop based options as well, which you can explore here].)
  2. Use whatever method you chose to call on students at random as you facilitate the discussion. 
Variations:
  • Both with the cards and with the app Randomly, you can opt to remove the names of the already-called-on-students or to keep them in the mix: removing names helps ensure balanced voices, whereas keeping all names in the mix ensures engagement throughout because students are aware that their name may come up again.
  • Have a student act as the ‘picker’, choosing the next card in the pile or hitting the button on the iPad to pick the next student. It’s a great way for students to show leadership.
Why this Works:
When facilitating a whole group discussion, students who blurt answers aloud or constantly raise their hands tend to take over, giving other students perceived permission to tune out and disengage. However, establishing that all students will be called on at some point encourages students to stay engaged throughout. This strategy ensures that both shy students and students who prefer to be passive learners stay more active in their learning.

​Chip Toss

What to Do:
  1. Round up some poker chips or something similar; you’ll need enough chips for each student in the discussion group to have four each.
  2. Give each student four chips—explain that all students are expected to use at least three chips, but that no one is to use more than four.
  3. Sitting in a full-class circle, provide the class with their topic for discussion and/or focus questions (I also like to give them some prep time, which is really key for more introverted students to feel comfortable in such situations), and then have them get started. Do your best to keep your own contributions at a minimum: only interject when absolutely necessary.
  4. Each time a student talks, the student must toss a chip into the center of the circle. (Tip: if your room is not carpeted, set a blanket down on the floor to cushion each chip’s fall, otherwise the chips can make a lot of noise.)
Variations:
  • Playing cards work well in place of chips, as do colored strips of paper.
  • Use this with groups of roughly 8-12 students in a Fishbowl discussion format (details on Fishbowls can be found here under “Analysis and Inquiry” and then “Deep Discussion Resources”).
  • Give each student two blue chips and two red chips: have blue mean “I only added slightly to what someone else said or reworded someone else’s idea” and red mean “I added a new idea, text support, or a ‘real-world’ example.” This helps ensure the conversation delves deeper. (Should a student miss-identify the question-type used, feel free to hand back the chip.)
  • Divide the class in half and host a debate: when using the chips, one color can be for new ideas and the other for rebuttals.
  • Give students who have anxiety about group discussions fewer chips to use.
Why it Works:
Again, as was noted with 
Random Selection, large group discussions tend to foster environments where some students naturally dominate, either pushing quieter students aside or giving students who wish to disengage permission to do so. However, a strategy like this helps combat that by making students aware of the discussion's balance—helping those likely to over-contribute keep themselves in check while simultaneously motivating those likely to under-contribute to add their voices into the conversation.
For more about 21st Century Skills, consider reading this Mind Shift article: “Three Trends that Will Shape the Future of Curriculum.”
This post brought to you by Heather Lyke, Secondary Implementation Associate
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