Collaboration: One Way Road to Student Success

Good Morning Deep Creek School Family,

When the thought of great teachers comes to mind, always at the forefront is the ability to simplify concepts and processes for students.  Teaching is a challenging, complicated, and often overwhelming responsibility.  This is why again, chasing the bouncing FSA ball can not be focus for student achievement.

Last week week the focus of the MMM was centered around the quality instruction that leads to student achievement.  In review, it has been clearly stated that the focus of every lesson needs to begin with OUTCOMES.  Lesson planning needs to start with three items at the forefront.  Element #44 Attention to Content Standards, Element #43 Lessons Within Units, and Webb's Depth Of Knowledge.  Below is a link to last week's MMM for review.

http://dcesmmm1516.blogspot.com/2018/09/outstanding-outcomes.html

This Monday the focus will be on the processes. The process to improve student achievement will always start with collaboration and focus on collaboration.  All of the following 8 items have an emphasis on working together.

1. Collaboration

Recall this picture from the beginning of the year Power Point. This group had a clear achievement goal.  Each person knew that goal and they worked together to achieve it.  This should be no different for your team here at DCE.

2.  Clear Achievement Goals

  Element #44 

3.  Data-Driven Decision Making

Common formative assessment provides data.  Data are feedback to immediately assess if the instruction has been effective.  It will serve as a blue print to where instruction needs to travel next.  A great instructor will use these data to reflect and will  not use them as an avenue to blame, complain, or deflect.

4. Common Understanding of Quality Student Work

Groups of teachers in the county are currently working on Critical Concept Scales that will allow the entire county to have a common understanding of quality student work.

5.  Common Understanding of Quality Instruction

6. Quality of Teaching and Learning

Remember the Marzano Framework is not just the evaluation tool that the Union and CCPS has chosen for evaluation.  The framework is a researched back road map on how the brain works and how learning takes place.  All these elements work together to promote learning.

7.  Job Embedded Site-Based PD

Our November 6th PD, Kagan Team, Thinking Map Teams, PLC, etc.

8. Sense of Urgency

Act Now

Thank you all for reading.  Make sure you check the master calendar for this week's events.

Have a great week,

James & Adrienne

Outstanding Outcomes

Good Morning Deep Creek School Family, 

Don't we all want the best outcome in everything we do? We began the year talking about Outcomes and the importance of beginning with outcomes before choosing the strategy and tool. The tool could be a thinking map, a piece of technology, a Kagan structure or any tool in your tool belt to get your students to achieve the designated outcome. Don't get hung up on the tool. Focus on the outcome. Your tool belts are full but only you have the power to choose the correct tool for the outcome to be obtained.

When we begin any lesson, we need to think about what we want the students to be able to do at the end of the lesson or unit. The lesson or unit should be chosen based on the appropriate standard which happens to be element 44 from the Marzano framework.

After understanding the standard or standards you must teach, you must them have a good understanding of the depth of knowledge which is element 43 from Marzano's framework. 

Even though you are not scored on these elements for a formal evaluation, these elements are the key to our focus this year. "We aren't chasing the bouncy balls the DOE is throwing at us." We must simply teach to the depth of rigor required in our standards. In pre-conferences, please be prepared to discuss the standards you are teaching. As instructional leaders, we need to ensure you are applying in element 44 and 43, meaning you teach what you are supposed to teach (standards) when you are supposed to teach them (pacing guide) to the depth expected within the standard (Webb's Depth of Knowledge). Our walk-throughs and our monthly team meetings around data are with this intent in mind. We are here to support you and your students' learning! 

We hope everyone has a great week! Please review the master calendar for events. 

Adrienne and James

Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

Good Morning Deep Creek School Family, 

Starbucks is carrying pumpkin spice again so it must be fall, right? The weather certainly doesn't feel like fall yet. Fall does bring about the beginning of the evaluation process. We have shared all the elements for informal and formal observations this year. 

 

Hopefully you will see some transfer between the CCPS framework and Hattie's recommendations.

Just a few reminders from the beginning of the year.

We learned a few things from Bold School by Weston Kieschnick.

Bold school teachers know that tools don’t drive pedagogy decisions. Outcomes drives pedagogy decisions.

Once we understand the learning outcome, we ask ourselves which high effect-size strategies will best help us meet our learning outcomes. We don’t even start thinking about tech tools until step 3 of the Bold School Framework for Strategic Blended Instruction.

Ask yourself...How can I leverage digital tools, to support instructional strategies, in the pursuit of meeting rigorous and relevant academic student outcomes?

What gets planned gets done. We can’t plan for success until we understand our academic outcomes (know the standards), we know which strategies give us the best bang for our buck in meeting those outcomes, and we understand which digital tools can best support these strategies.

How do we know if what we’ve planned is even any good? This frameworks can all help us to evaluate our planning and assess for rigor and relevance.

Invite us in early and often to take some of the stress of the end of the year! The best part of our days are when we can visit classrooms. 

"The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual." Vince Lombardi 

Don't forget to review the master calendar! 

Sincerely,  

Adrienne & James