Leadership for Rigor, Relevance, and

Relationships

Susan Gunderman

International Center for Leadership in Education

Susangunderman@comcast.net

Change can be scary.

“Some people change when they see

the light, others when they feel the

heat.”

- Caroline Schroeder

Leadership for ChangeLeadership for Change

Why What How

is change needed?

needs to be done ?

do you implement

and sustain meaningful change?

Why Change?

“The primary aim of education is not to enable students to do well in school, but to help them do well in the lives they lead outside of the school.”

Mission

• Prepare students for the world they will inhabit outside the schoolhouse walls.

• Engage them in learning that will develop skills that are transferable to the 21st Century world.

Teaching is only as good as the learning

that takes place.

What do we change?

RigorRigor

Rigorous instruction prepares students to think critically

so they can solve problems in unpredictable, real world

situations.

Thinking outside the car.

RelevanceRelevance

My only skill is taking tests.

BBC Survey

21% could not locate US

60% could not locate England on a map

Bill of Rights:

• 1 in 4 could name one

20% believe sun revolves around the Earth

• 1 in 5 named “right to own a pet“

55% could not name a country that begins with “U”

BBC Survey

80% knew Fiji is located in the South Pacific

50% could name at least two members of the Simpsons Family

Students will remember

learning that is connected to

their own lives.

Intelligence v Relevance

Vision and ImplementationVision and Implementation “There are no teachers with correct answers,

only guides with different areas of expertise and experience that may help along the way.”

~ Peter Senge and Fred Kofman, 1995

Flip the

funnel

Rigor and Relevance Framework

Shifts the Focus from

Teaching to Learning

Rigor/Relevance Framework

KnowledgeKnowledge

ApplicationApplication

High

Low

Low High

Knowledge TaxonomyKnowledge Taxonomy

1.1. AwarenessAwareness2.2. Comprehension Comprehension 3.3. ApplicationApplication4.4. AnalysisAnalysis5.5. Synthesis Synthesis 6.6. EvaluationEvaluation

1. Knowledge of one discipline

2. Application within discipline

3. Application across disciplines

4. Application to real world predictable situations

5. Application to real world unpredictable situations

Application Model

Rigor/Relevance Framework

1. Recall Knowledge2. Comprehension3. Application4. Analysis5. Synthesis6. Evaluation

1. Knowledge of one discipline

2. Application within discipline

3.Application across

disciplines

4. Application to real world predictable situations

5. Application to real world unpredictable situations

Knowledge Application

Rigor/Relevance Framework

KnowledgeKnowledge

ApplicationApplication

High

Low

Low High

A B

C D

From Theory to Practice

Moving Rigor and Relevance

Into the Classroom

Theory to Practice

Develop a school-wide focus on instruction through RR

• Instructional Strategies

Handbook

• Common vocabulary

• Common vision of effective

instruction

Collaboration for Best Practices

• Give teachers time to talk about their craft.

• Use meeting time to talk about instruction.

• Share best practices.

Collaboration

• Instructional Strategies by Quadrant

• Graphic Organizers

• Developing a Rubric

• Aligning Instruction and Assessments• Designing Writing Prompts in Content

Areas

Snack and Shares

CollaborationPrincipal’s Roundtable Discussions

Current literature

• Brain Research

• Learning Styles

• Grading Practices

• 9th Grade Success

Stupid in America

Out of India

The World Is Flat

Collaboration

Staff Meetings

• Faculty Meetings Show and Tell

• Collaborative Groups Planning Quadrant D

Lessons

Reflective Questionsto Provoke Crucial Conversations

• What do you intend students to learn?

• What is the level(s) of Rigor and Relevance?

• How do you know students understood the lesson?

• What data are you using to determine you are meeting the standards?

• What can I do as instructional leader to support your efforts?

Reflective Questions

• What strategies do you use to address individual learning styles? • What was the most successful part of the learning experience and why? • If you teach this lesson again, how would you change it? • What evidence can you share regarding achievement of standards?

• How do you know learning has occurred?

Benchmarksfor Progress

Instruction with High Expectations

D Quadrant Lesson Creation

1. Select outcome:

Be able to synthesize concepts learned in a nonfiction unit.

2. Select product:

Publish a newspaper article based on children’s literature

Standard: Prose and Document Literacy

Required Components• Headline• By-line• Staged photograph• Cutline and pull quote• Map• Continuation headline, if needed• Body (250-400 words)

– Interview– Site visit– Archival research

Match to verb and strategy

• evaluate• validate• justify• rate• referee• infer• rank• dramatize• argue• conclude

• evaluation• opinion• estimation• trial• article• adaptation• debate• new game• invention

VerbsProducts Strategies

• inquiry• research• cooperative

learning• presentation• project design

Provide rubric

All articles presented orally, then published in spiral-bound book and given to each student.

Student Reflection

“First of all, I never thought we could get it all together to actually produce a newspaper with all the parts that you wanted. But we did it, and I actually learned a lot. Mostly I learned that I had to pull my load so that we didn’t look like a bunch of slackers compared to the other groups. And I think I know what it might feel like to be a publisher in charge of getting a newspaper to press on time. Definitely not for me!”

Biology II

Human Anatomy ProjectHuman Anatomy ProjectDr. Joanne Jezequel

Children’s Book ProjectAnatomy & Physiology

“I once had a teacher who said, ‘If you truly understand a concept, you can find at least 5 different ways to retell the information.’ The children’s book helped me think past the memorization of dry textbook material.”

Student Reflection

Renewal

• Dr. Daggett meets with students and teachers

• Responses surprising• “I feel a little sorry for my teacher

trying to get to D” • Teachers 4; students 2.5

• Clearly not there yet• The challenge

• Each teacher will create a D quadrant lesson

• Work in collaborative groups

• Present lessons at faculty meeting

Answering the Challenge

Expectations and Resources

• Work in collaborative groups 1.5 hours per month

Workdays

• Peer visits

• Snack and Shares

Rigor and Relevance 101 Movie Maker, Podcasts, Garage Band

Designing Rubrics

Kennesaw Mountain Kennesaw Mountain Model Lessons PresentationModel Lessons Presentation

Turning Point: Training Students

Make them part of expectations and celebrations

Sustaining High Expectations for

Rigor and Relevance

Sustaining the Work

“Single

mindedness”

KFC not Baskin Robbins

Sustaining the Work

• Collaborative planning

• Sharing resources, insights,

challenges,

success

Sustaining the Work

Collect and analyze data to help guide work

• “Measure what matters.”

• See it through to the end.

Involve Students in the Conversations about Instruction

• Talk to the students

• Monthly principal’s lunch Enrollment in AP/Honors classes

What motivates you in a class?

Interpret test data and climate surveys

Delta

Sustaining the Work

Confront Active Negativity

Eye-rollers, “BMGs” and Toxic Dumpers

Be creative

Have fun!

Quadrant D Lessons

Not one more thing….

A more effective way of doing the

only thing that matters….

Engaging students in rigorous and relevant learning!

Rigor, Relevance andRelationships

“This is not what we do,

it’s who we are.”

Kevin Maholchek

Class of 2008

International Center for Leadership in Education, Inc.

1587 Route 146

Rexford, NY 12148

Phone (518) 399-2776

Fax (518) 399-7607

E-mail - info@LeaderEd.com

www.LeaderEd.com

Email

susangunderman@comcast.net