What's Critical?

Good morning to all,

Dr. Robert Marzano and his research team have proven dedication to determine the best methods to reach optimal student learning.  However, even Dr. Marzano himself states, "....to counteract the incorrect belief that research could ever produce a list of instructional strategies that could guarantee student learning" (Marzano 2009b).  No single instructional strategy can be used in isolation to garner student learning.  "These items work in concert or sets to produce positive results" (Marzano, 2017).

 


The above image shows the elements that fall under the Domain Question 2 set, which identify methods that will help students interact with new knowledge.  Although only three of these elements; Identifying Critical Content, Helping Students Record and Represent Knowledge, and Helping Students Reflect on Learning are on current evaluations all of these items are important steps in helping students understand their learning.  A master teacher will develop and refine these elements within instruction and will be able to implement the strategy, monitor students for the desired results, and adapt the approach so that it is effective with all students.

This week focus will be upon Element #6 Identifying Critical Information
This is simply the teacher pointing what is important and what is less important.  The need for this strategy arises from students being bombarded with all types of information and not all of this information is equally important, Element 6 assists students with paying attention to the most important content.  There are 11 strategies below that can be used to highlight critical information.




There are 5 questions from the book, "Identifying Critical Content - Classroom Techniques to Help Students Know What is Important" that should be considered when building lesson plans. 

1.  How can you begin to incorporate some aspect of this strategy in your instruction?

2.  How can you signal to students which content is critical versus non-critical?

3.  How could you monitor the extent to which students attend to critical content?

4.  What are some ways you can adapt and create techniques for identifying critical information and address unique student needs and situation?

5.  What are you learning about your students as you adapt and create new techniques?

If you would like to read more from this book, please use the following link.https://www.learningsciences.com/media/catalog/product/i/c/icc_lookinside.pdf


Thank you all for the Character Parade on Friday, we are looking forward to this week's activities.  Please check the Master Calendar for school events.

Have a great week,
James and Adrienne

Questioning part 2

Good Morning Deep Creek School Family, 

As we alluded to during the PACE faculty meeting, this week we encourage you to go back to last week's and read the parts of the MMM about questioning that you didn't read last week ;) 

After reading that, please watch this video clip and pay attention to the teacher's questioning techniques as well as her managing response rates. Remember the goal is the majority involved. 

http://www.doe.mass.edu/edeval/resources/calibration/g4VisualizingFractions.mp4

As you watch I am sure you will see other elements as well. Reflect on this video and again we will encourage you to video tape yourself! Set up your ipad and let it record. It does not have to be shared with anyone but just used for your reflection. 

Thanks for all you do, 

Adrienne and James

Don't forget Wednesday is wear RED day. Please remind your students to wear any red shirt and uniform bottoms. 

All uniform ballots need to be turned in to the office by end of day Tuesday. 

Do you ask good questions?

Good Morning Deep Creek School Family, 

It is hard to believe it is the end of the first nine weeks already. Routines are set and learning is occurring all around campus. We canceled Music & Measurement as to not distract from the routines and learning that have just begun. We recognize there are enough distractions within the normal course of a school day. Minimizing those interruptions and ensuring engaged learning is occurring in your classroom is a priority. We can tell and we appreciate all your effort toward that.

Hattie has shared that questioning takes up so much of the classroom time that it is essential for teachers to be skilled at questioning techniques. In fact he stated that skilled questioning by teachers can guide students to thoughtful and reflective answers which will facilitate higher levels of academic achievement. Questions serve many purposes. They can help pupils to reflect on information and commit it to memory. They can develop thinking skills, encourage discussion and stimulate new ideas. Questions allow teachers to determine how much a class understands and enable them to pitch lessons at an appropriate level. They are an important tool for managing the classroom, helping to draw individuals into the lesson and keeping them interested and alert. And questions have a symbolic value - sending a clear message that pupils are expected to be active participants in the learning process. That is why element 26 is so important and remember the key to this element is questioning. If you aren't asking good questions, does the response rate even matter?

Hattie discussed lower level questions are more effective when aiming at surface level information, and a mixture of lower and higher level questions are more effective when aiming at deeper information and understanding.

Effective questioning:

• involves all students
• engages students in thinking for themselves
• reinforces and revisits learning objectives/goals
• shows connections between previous and new learning
• gives the teacher immediate feedback on students’ understanding, which they can then use to modify teaching
• includes ‘staging’ questions to draw students towards key understanding or to increase the level of challenge in a lesson as it proceeds
• helps students develop their thinking from the lower order concrete and factual recall type to the higher order analytical, conceptual and evaluative which promote deeper understanding
• promotes justification and reasoning
• encourages students to speculate and hypothesis
• can support students to draw inferences
• keeps students focused on the salient elements in a lesson and not on extraneous matters
• encourages students to ask as well as to ‘receive’ questions
• encourages students to listen and respond to each other as well as to the teacher
• creates an atmosphere of trust where students’ opinions and ideas are valued and where teacher praise can be connected directly to their responses

As a teacher, developing really effective questioning isn’t something that just happens. Effective questioning is an aspect of a teacher’s professional practice that needs to be developed and honed throughout a teacher’s career.

It is recommended that teachers need to: critically reflect on their practice in relation to questioning; observe the questioning practice of others; have others observe them; work with colleagues to track and evaluate the frequency and types of questions they ask and then plan ways to sharpen and improve these practices.

More specifically, when planning to incorporate effective questioning into teaching practice teachers need to:

• examine and reflect upon questioning practices
• establish expectations
• establish student accountability
• build essential questions into lesson plans
• ask more open questions
• use questions to promote collaboration
• involve students in forming and asking questions

For more info check out this website:  http://www.ssgt.nsw.edu.au/teacher_questioning.htm

Questioning is one of those areas that you would benefit from recording yourself and reflecting on your questioning techniques. Remember Weston (Bold School) said the best athletes video tape their games and critique their performances for growth. Why again do we not do that as teachers? Use your ipad, it is quick and easy.

Please review the master calendar for the week!

Thanks for all you do,
Adrienne and James

Speaking and Listening.... Skills that Can't be Forgotten

Good morning all. Hoping each of you had a good weekend and are looking forward to the upcoming week ahead.  Last Monday the MMM had a focus on staff collaboration leading to improving instruction and increased student proficiency.  Today, let's focus on student collaboration.   Again, remember that Dr. Robert Marzano did not create his elements just for instructor evaluation, but instead his chosen elements are a blueprint on how learning takes place.  These elements focus on how our students' brains work and what instructional steps need to take place for students to deepen their knowledge. 

Element 15 shows how grouping students to practice assists with deepening knowledge.  Students should be given opportunities to work together to practice skills, see others strategies, check answers, and explain their reasoning.  This is not always an easy task for students, especially the younger the age.  This is where your role comes in as a facilitator as you set the expectations and roles each student has in their groups.  Collaboration like other skills is learned.

Another aspect that some may not know is that grouping students is not only just a Marzano Element, but in the state of Florida is also a Florida Standard that is required.  It falls under Language Arts standards (LAFS.SL.1.1), but must be taught across the curriculum.  Take some time to read your grade level Speaking and Listening Standard below.  Keep in mind where your students should be when they arrive in your room and where they need to get to by the end of the year.

These standards probably show some of the most important skills that can be offered to students.  What the future holds for students can't be predicted, but what can be assumed is a need for communication and collaboration for students' careers and relationships.

Thank you for all you do.  Have a great week.
Adrienne and James