Enhancing Formative Assessment, Increasing Student Responsibility:

Focus on Guided Instruction

Secondary Powerful Conversations NetworkNovember 17, 2011

Activity #1: Sponge Activity—Modified Scavenger Hunt

Welcome back to your PCN community!

Use this time to meet or reconnect with colleagues through participation in the

“Modified Scavenger Hunt.” Complete as many squares as possible.

Rule: Only one signature per individual! The goal would be to find 25 individuals who

can help you complete your grid.

Partners with the Alabama State Department of EducationInitiatives

Guiding Questions

• How can the gradual release of responsibility framework be used to better design, deliver and assess instruction that ensures all students are well-prepared for the next level?

• In what ways can we enhance our teaching practice related to guided instruction?

• How can we enhance our understanding and daily and intentional practice of formative assessment so that we use the data gathered to improve instruction for all students?

Guiding Questions, cont’d

• How can we take our work in collaborative teams to the next level as we transfer learnings to our school setting?

• What is my responsibility to: (a) transfer my learning to my own classroom or school; (b) work with my team to enhance our collective practice; and (c) share learning from PCN with our faculty-at-large? How can we best monitor our progress and measure the effectiveness of our implementation?

Norms

• Collective Responsibility• Collaboration• Each of us is responsible for all of our students.

• Participation• Monitor your talk.• Encourage and support others.

• Respect • Put cell phones on vibrate.• No side-bar conversations.

• Time• Begin and end on time.• Take care of your own creature comforts.

Activity #2: Sharing Designs for Focus Lessons

 

WHAT? Individual reflection and sharing with colleagues related to the focus lesson you designed and taught

WHY? To learn with and from one another

HOW? Individual teachers will present their focus lessons to two other colleagues who will pose questions to take the presenting teachers deeper into reflection about this lesson; two or three rounds of sharing to ensure that all present and reflect (pp. 3-4)

Activity #2: Begin with Individual Reflection

• Turn to page 3 in your Activity Packet.

• Use the template on this page to consolidate your thinking and reflection about the focus lesson you designed.

• You will use this reflection template and your lesson design itself as you talk with colleagues.

Activity #2: Administrators and Coaches

• Principals and Assistant Principals use Activity Sheet #2 designed for administrators

• Coaches may choose whether to work in a content-area group or with an administrators’ group. Choose the appropriate reflection sheet.

Move to Your Content-Alike Groups

1. Math

2. Science

3. English/Language Arts

4. Social Studies

5. Special Education / Physical Education

6. Foreign Language/ Art / Music /

Activity #2: Create triads

• Move to area designated for your grade level. Administrators should meet at the back of the room.

• Create a triad, ensuring that at least 2 members of triad have brought a focus lesson to share.

• Find a comfortable spot to sit for the next 50 minutes or so of sharing.

Activity #2: Protocol for Sharing

• Decide who will be the first speaker/reflector.

• The two other members of triad will serve as interviewers, being intentional in asking questions to clarify and/or to cause speaker to go deeper in his/her reflection.

• There will be 3 rounds of sharing. Each round will be 10 minutes in length.

Return to Your School Team

• Take 10 minutes to share what you learned during this activity with members of your school team.

• How can you apply these learnings yourself? How can you share these ideas with members of your faculty who are not attending PCN?

Gradual Release of Responsibility Framework for Student Learning

“The gradual release of responsibility model of instruction suggests that the cognitive load should shift slowly and purposefully from teachers-as-model, to joint responsibility, to independent practice and application by the learner (Pearson & Gallagher, 1983).”—p. 2, 2nd paragraph, 1st sentence, Better Learning Through Structured Teaching

Gradual Release of Responsibility

4 Phases

FOCUS LESSONS

GUIDED INSTRUCTION

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

INDEPENDENT TASKS

IndependentFocus Lesson

Guided Instructi

onCollaborative

TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY

“I do it”

“We do it”

“You do it together”

“You do it alone”

A structure for successful instruction, p. 4 Better Learning Through Structured Teaching

Learning Targets for Guided Instruction

To know the importance of using formative feedback to create multiple small groups (with differing cognitive needs) to work with teacher during guided instruction activities

To deepen individual understanding about three key features of guided instruction: scaffolding, formative assessment, and differentiation

To evaluate four strategies that can be used to guide student learning toward mastery during this phase of instruction

Guided Instruction

“The guided instruction phase of the gradual release of responsibility framework is the time when the cognitive load begins to shift from teacher to student.” (p. 39)

WHAT GUIDED INSTRUCTION IS NOT

• Ability grouping

• Prescriptive

• Doing one lesson five times

• “Every day with every student”

Activity #3: Three Key Features of Guided Instruction—Text-Based Dialogue & Question

Generation

WHAT? Review and analysis of each of 3 key features of guided instruction: scaffolds, formative assessment, and differentiation

WHY? To frame the “big picture” of guided instruction prior to looking at the particulars

HOW? Individual review and reflection followed by dialogue with an elbow partner to identify key ideas and questions (p. 5)

Activity #4: Sharing Conceptions About Guided Instruction— 4-Box

Synectic

WHAT? Surfacing your thinking about guided instruction

WHY? To make our thinking visible so that we can reinforce and learn from one another and correct any misconceptions

HOW? 4-Box Synectic focused on guided instruction (p. 6)

Guided Instruction is like ________ because ________.

Water Skiing

Horseback Riding

Playing a Video Game

Dancing

Activity #5: Exploring Strategies for Guided Instruction

WHAT? Go deeper in examining four strategies for guided instruction featured in Better Learning Through Structured Teaching

WHY? To look at and learn from examples from the classroom and to extend our thinking about guided instruction

HOW? Investigate one of the four strategies with colleagues; share “headlines” and key ideas with home team and learn from team members about other three strategies (pp. 7-8)

“Expert” Group Reading Assignments

A-BLUE: GUIDED READING

B-WHITE: GUIDED WRITING

C-YELLOW: STUDENT THINK-ALOUD

D-GREEN: MISCONCEPTION ANALYSIS

Model Lesson for Guided Instruction—Carmen Buchanan,

Instructional Partner, Madison City Schools

• See template on pages 13-15 of the Activity Packet.

• Follow along as the lesson design for guided instruction is presented.

Activity #6: Individual Reflection

WHAT? Individually and silently think back on the day

WHY? To consolidate our learnings and think about how we will transfer to our classroom

HOW? Silent reflection and writing using prompts on Activity Sheet #6, (pp.9-10)

Activity #7: School Team Reflection and Planning

WHAT? Sharing individual reflections with school team members and beginning to plan for transfer of learnings back home

WHY? To be intentional in our plans to share learnings and resources with colleagues who are not in attendance at PCN

HOW? Team dialogue using the team planning template found on page 11 of Activity Packet

Activity #8: Meet the Authors!Coming to Us From California via Skype

Authors: Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey

Publisher: ASCD, 2008

Reflection on Fisher & Frey’s Presentation

• What new insights did you develop?

• What was the greatest value in hearing from the authors?

Homework

• Bring a Guided Instruction lesson to share with colleagues.

• Read Chapter 4, “Collaborative Learning: Consolidating Thinking with Peers,” in Better Learning Through Structured Teaching

Final Reflection and Feedback

• Please complete the Final Reflection and Feedback form prior to departing.

• Leave your completed form in the center of the table.

• Safe travels back home!—and Happy Holidays!