Science Leadership Support Network

November 20, 2009

Supported by PIMSER and Kentucky Department of Education

Please enjoy some refreshments and take time to work on the SLSN Pre-Survey

Welcome!

Group Norms• Stay on schedule; be on

time• Put cell phones on silent

and computers closed• Stay present, giving full

attention• Listen actively as others are

speaking• Be engaged—Be IN the work• Avoid sidebar conversations• Balance advocacy and

inquiry• Keep name tags visible• Rule of 2 feet• Any others?

Goals of SLSN

• Deepen understanding of a balanced assessment system and its role in motivating students to higher levels of achievement.

• Understand and incorporate skills and strategies for transforming planning and practice in order to ensure that all students understand key concepts from the Energy Transformations big idea.

• Develop and act on a personal vision of leadership for sustainable improvement in their school or district.

October Review

What’s my Word?

ContentSurvey

HeatAnd

Temperature

Global Achievement

Gap Brief

Where are we going?

I have data.Now What?

Ch. 2Debrief

HQTL:Assessment

AndReflection

Line Up!

• Without talking, line up as directed from the most recent high school graduate to the oldest graduate.

• Wait for further instructions.

Looking at the Old World

• Discuss with your partner:– What did you read that was most like your

high school experience?– What did you read that was a dramatic

difference from your high school experience?– What was missing from your high school

experience (as a learner)?– What can be changed to make current and

future students’ experiences better?

Table Talk

• Refer to your reading guide for Chapter 2 of The Global Achievement Gap.

• Discuss questions 2 and 3

Carousel Activity• We will work as 4 groups of 3 tables each

– ABC/DEF/GHI/JKL

• Your table will use the color of marker designated above to record your responses to the question on your chart.• Ex. A = green, E = red, I = blue

• When the time ends, rotate the chart to the next table in your group.• Ex. A to B, B to C, C to A . . .

• Read the new question, read the previous responses, and either develop new ideas or expand on existing ideas as quickly as possible.

• Summarize the responses when they arrive back to your original station.

New Motto• Singapore’s motto is “Thinking

Schools, Learning Nation,” pg. 76.• Kentucky’s is “Proficient and

Prepared for Success.”• Is this accurate? Will this help our

students compete globally? Based on your reading so far, propose a new motto or defend our current one.

• Work with your table group to develop/defend a motto. Be prepared to share with the group.

• Presenter: Most recent HS graduate

7 Survival Skills & Learning Climate

• Examine the list of ways SLSN participants are attending to Learning Climate in our classrooms.

• Will these strategies help students successfully achieve the 7 survival skills?

• How important is consciously attending to learning climate for attaining the 7 survival skills?

• What is critical to getting where we want to be?

For January

• Read chapters 3 and 4.

• Use the reading guide to help organize your thoughts.

Time to Reflect

High Quality Teaching and Learning

Assessment and Reflection

The teacher and student collaboratively gather information and reflect on learning through a systematic process that informs instruction.

• “When teachers are asked how they assess their students, they typically talk about tests, examinations, quizzes, and other formal methods. When they are asked how they know whether their students have learned what they have taught, the answers are very different.”– Dylan Wiliam, Assessing Science Learning

Characteristics of High Quality Teaching and Learning

• A- Teacher uses multiple methods to systematically gather data about student understanding and ability.

• B- Teacher uses student work/data, observations of instruction, assignments and interactions with colleagues to reflect on and improve teaching practice. 

• C- Teacher revises instructional strategies based upon student achievement data. 

• D- Teacher uncovers students’ prior understanding of the concepts to be addressed and addresses students’ misconceptions/incomplete conceptions.  The teacher:1) uncovers students’ prior conceptions about the concepts to be addressed and addresses students’ misconceptions/incomplete conceptions regarding the natural and physical world.

• E- Teacher co-develops scoring guides/rubrics with students and provides adequate modeling to make clear the expectations for quality performance. 

• F- Teacher guides students to apply rubrics to assess their performance and identify improvement strategies.  

• G- Teacher provides regular and timely feedback to students and parents that moves learners forward.  

• H- Teacher allows students to use feedback to improve their work before a grade is assigned. 

• I- Teacher facilitates students in self- and peer-assessment. 

• J- Teacher reflects on instruction and makes adjustments as student learning occurs. 

Teacher Characteristics:

• A- Student recognizes what proficient work looks like and determines steps necessary for improving his/her work. 

• B- Student monitors progress toward reaching learning targets. 

• C- Student develops and/or uses scoring guides periodically to assess his/her own work or that of peers.  

• D- Student uses teacher and peer feedback to improve his/her work.

• E- Student reflects on work and makes adjustments as learning occurs.

Characteristics of High Quality Teaching and Learning

Student Characteristics:

What might this look like in practice?

• Read the introduction to Vol. 4 of Uncovering Student Ideas in Science.

• As you read, put a + by descriptions that match the descriptors for HQTL and a by descriptions of effective use of probes.

• Why is it important to gather information and reflect on learning through a systematic process that informs instruction?

Energy Transformations:Heat and Temperature

First Word—Last Word

• Working with a partner, use the handout to create an acrostic of sorts about heat and temperature.

• Start with the first letter in the acrostic to begin a statement related to the topic.

• Try to write complete statements. • Try to avoid using only one word or short

phrases.• Place in your binder—we will revisit in May for

‘Last Word’.

Let’s Examine the Data• Read the teacher notes for

the warming water probe.• What’s the gist of the probe?• Review the notes from the

heat and temperature CTS.• Working with a partner, use

the teacher notes for the probe and the CTS notes to complete the organizer.

What are important considerations?Temperature Heat Thermal Energy

What is the suggested developmentally appropriate progression for teaching these?

What are the distinguishing characteristics of each of these?

What can the probe responses tell us about student understanding?

Why do students struggle to understand each of these?

What are some instructional considerations?

What to look for in Students’ Responses to Probes

Area for Analysis What to Look For

Concepts and Ideas Number of students choosing a selected response (tallies); groups of students using similar explanations

Use of terminology Confusion of everyday words with their scientific meaning; appropriate use of scientific terminology

Transfer of Learning Ability to apply ideas across contexts or in new situations

Prior Knowledge or experience

Ideas that students bring to their learning; experiences students may have had that impact their ideas

Sophistication level Grade levels at which the students’ ideas are typically developed

Reasoning Types of rules or justifications students use to support their ideas

Ability to explain Students’ ability to write or verbalize an explanation

Using the Data to Inform Instruction• Working with a partner, examine the

class set of responses to the probe.• Sort the responses

– Got it or Don’t

• Resort the “Don’t” responses by similarities in thinking.

• Determine some ‘next steps’ instructionally for this class.

• Meet with another pair at your table and reach a consensus about next steps.

• “…being fair would mean, among other things, seeing student mistakes as a stage of development rather than a symptom of cognitive deficiency or hopeless illiteracy…mistakes can be intelligent.”– Gerald Graff in The Chronicle of Higher Education,

November, 2009

Uses for Probes and Teacher Notes

• To uncover students’ understanding about a science topic prior to and throughout instruction, informing teachers in short-term lesson planning, long-term unit development, and even longer-term review and modifications for units taught again the next year;

• As a teaching and learning activity to engage students, spark inquiry, and stimulate thinking;

Uses for Probes and Teacher Notes

• To help teachers self-assess and analyze their own teaching by examining how well students are progressing toward a conceptual understanding of scientific ideas;

• To determine whether students need to experience ideas in new and varied contexts;

• To provide feedback to both teachers and students about teaching and learning;

Uses for Probes and Teacher Notes

• To promote safe, rich discourse in the classroom that recognizes that everyone’s ideas are important regardless of whether they are right or wrong;

• To differentiate instruction for different groups of students that targets their preconceptions.

• A formative assessment “probe” is like a _____________, because ___________.

Reflection Time

7 Strategies for Assessment…

• Learning Target: I can compare the 7 Strategies of Assessment for Learning and the CHQTL, in order to clarify how these can improve student learning.

Self Rank

• Using the descriptors for the Assessment and Reflection characteristics of HQTL, reflect on your current practice and rank yourself.

• Identify one descriptor you want to focus on improving prior to our next meeting.– How will you know you are improving?

Comparing 7 Strategies and CHQTL• Label each descriptor for HQTL (Classroom

Assessment and Reflection component) as to which of the 7 strategies of assessment for learning it addresses.– Are any missing?– Are there some that do not match one of the strategies? What

label might you give these?

• You have been asked to determine PD needs for your grade/team/dept/school. Working with a partner, draft your elevator speech convincing the PD committee to focus on classroom assessment and reflection and/or the 7 strategies in order to improve student learning.

Applying to Practice

• Scan the article, Every Day in Every Classroom

• Highlight the different strategies described for incorporating formative assessment into teaching routines.

• Select one strategy described in the article to try and to report on during our January meeting.

One last reflection….

For January 2010

• Read Chapters 3 and 4 in Global Achievement Gap.

• Read Chapter 2 in 7 Strategies.

• Complete the reading guides.

• Our next meeting will be January 22nd