Turn and Talk

  

                                                  
When students are required to think about their own learning, articulate what they understand, and what they still need to learn, achievement improves.
                   --Black and William, 1998;  Sternberg,1996;   Young 2000

We have learned the value of "turn and talk" time for our students through many of our educational learning about best practices, such as:

• Fundamental Five
• Daily Five
• Reader's Workshop
• Kagan Strategies
• Total Participation Techniques
• The Lesson Cycle
• Active Engagement
• Learning Styles
• Comprehension Connections (question stems)

I'm sure there are MANY more as well. What it boils down to is...

KIDS LEARN THE MOST FROM TALKING AND PARTICIPATING, not through only listening.

 

Here are some tips to help make the most of this simple, but HIGHLY effective practice:

1. Create a routine and overemphasize expectations so students know exactly how it works. (Spending the time up front will be worth it as you will save LOTS of time later as you are able to allow students to have great conversations with minimal management issues.)
   
2. Make sure it is a "THICK" question, not just a "THIN" question. (Yes, there are times for quick, recall level questions but they be sure they aren't always a one answer question.) Here are some examples of what this practice should be used for:    -teach a concept      -connect on a personal level    -answer rigorous questions stems Most of your PLCs are already planning these types of questions in your lessons as you fill in the guided questions. Just be sure to have them ready to use for this student conversation time.
3. Allow time for one partner to talk and then say "SWITCH" so that the other student has a chance to share. This works well with the questions that have more than one answer where students don't just repeat a generic phrase. This is a great time for them to agree or disagree with their partner, provide more insight, and/or include text evidence or schema. One quick and easy way to get the kids to do this is to have them add...
   

Examples:
I think the character is embarrassed BECAUSE she put her head down and I know when I do that I am feeling embarrassed about something.
I think the operation is addition BECAUSE it says more flowers grew and I know that that tells us we should add more and get a bigger number, or the total.

Great resources for these type of questions:

• TPT
• Comprehension Connections
• Fundamental Five
• TEKS Resource Systems lessons (found on the exemplar lesson R drive)        ***This is the best resource for specific questions that go right along with your curriculum. Saves a lot of time!

Learning Through our Mistakes

Sometimes with all the new ideas going around and the push to continue to "change" in education, we feel frustrated. Frustrated that we will never get it "right". Frustrated that we sometimes feel like we are merely changing for the sake of change. Frustrated that we are exhausted and overwhelmed. Frustrated that there will never be enough time in the day. Frustrated that our to-do list continues to increase without anything being deleted! Just. Plain. Frustrated.

Last week, I read a couple of articles and had some conversations with co-workers which all had a common theme: We learn the MOST through our mistakes.

It takes me back to one of the most LIFE changing (not just career changing) books I have ever read. As our campus knows well, we must have a growth mindset to be happy and successful in education.
This is a quote form the author of Mindset, Carol Dweck, that says it pretty well:
"In a growth mindset, you don't always welcome the setback, you were hoping to move forward, but you understand that it's information on how to move forward better next time. It is a challenge that you are determined to surmount. In a fixed mindset, a setback calls your ability into question." -Carol Dweck, 2013 interview

So, let's share, discuss, and debate the things we are trying in our instruction. We don't want to change for the sake of saying we did or taking someone else's word for it. We will make mistakes, they are inevitable. The important part is how we learn from them and apply it. The more we share that learning with others, the better we become for our kids. I truly believe this will lighten all of our loads. We are in this together. Let's talk about what IS and more importantly, what IS NOT working with our kids. And then, we will adjust and improve. A little at a time will add up to make a significant difference. The biggest question is: HOW DO WE KNOW? It's simple: THE KIDS WILL TELL US. Let's pay attention! This is a GREAT reason to spend time looking at and discussing their work. (See previous post.)

The other articles I mentioned are listed below:

Growth Mindset oct-2013

Daily Cafe-Tip of the Week-Oct 11, 2013

The Power of Focusing on Student Products

I was reading an article titled "Using Data to Guide Instruction and Improve Student Learning" and this paragraph stuck out to me:
“In our work with teacher teams, we’ve observed that collaboration centered on building a common understanding of content standards prior to the planning of instruction and assessment has resulted in greater consistency in expectations for student performance,” explains SEDL program associate Dale Lewis. “When teams return to review student work products based on these shared expectations and common understandings, discussion about how to improve future instruction is more focused.” Using interim assessment information to adjust instruction is a central feature of PTLC. Teams analyze data such as student work samples and brainstorm adjustments to instruction to meet both the enrichment needs of high-achieving students and the intervention needs of struggling students (Jacobson, 2010; Tobia, 2007). Recently, SEDL staff facilitated professional learning on analyzing student work samples.

I feel like we, a campus are really understanding how to familiarize ourselves with the curriculum content through the IFDs before planning specific instruction. This, along with many other common practices in our PLCs go right along with the PLC cycle. The thing I have noticed after discussing with many fellow educators is, that we don't bring in the student work piece very often, if at all. We have gotten used to solely looking at common assessments and reading benchmarks with our PLCs. Just recently I was able to see why bringing in the student work samples is TREMENDOUSLY important. 

Here are a few things I have noticed in conversations around student work:

1. The kids are the focus!

2. We are able to see examples of the good, the bad..and yes (hopefully not often) the ugly!

3. Teachers have a better understanding of what expectations they shoud have for their students.

4. We can collaborate about what makes the difference between a "almost there" piece of work and a "nailed it" piece.

5. IT IMPROVES INSTRUCTION for our students based on their SPECIFIC needs!

If you haven't had the time to bring in some student work samples to your PLC, please give it a go!

Here are some tips for when and if you do:

• Make sure the student work is something that is in your IFD
• Develop NORMS for what this should look like (the student work and the conversation about it)
• Sort student samples into piles: didn't get it, making progress, nailed it
• Ask questions about WHAT THE KIDS ARE TELLING US:
• Common Errors?
• Similarities/Differences in Piles?
• What does the "nailed it" pile have that the others don't?
• Was there anything that stood out?
• How do we get the kids in the first pile to improve?
• Scan in an example of a really good "nailed it" and  "making progress". Save these for next year to have good models for student conversation about the difference. Great way to show what level you expect their thinking to get to!

References:
Lewis, Dale, Madison-Harris Robyn, Muoneke, Ada & Times, Chris, Using Data to Guide Instruction and Improve Student Learning, sedl.org

Review Simplified

As we look at digging deeper into our learning with kids we realize that it truly is QUALITY over QUANTITY.  We know that for Reading comprehension and Math problem solving to improve, less is more. If we are going to get kids to the level of understanding they need to reach we don't have time to do LOTS of practice questions, but instead do a better job on a few.

 

With this thinking, yes it is easy to panic about "reviewing" enough so kids won't lose what they have learned. A couple of thoughts on this:

1. If we have more quality learning to start with that allows kids to understand concepts that they will be able to apply in many different ways we won't have to "drill and kill".

2. Yes, there is a time for some "basic" level learning that students need to have in order to be fluent readers and mathematicians.

So, here are some "quick review ideas" to help spiral in concepts that kids just need repeated exposure to develop fluency:

• Carpet Game: when students finish an activity and are moving to the carpet (or to their seat) have them play a simple game that looks similar to the "quiet game". It will help with transitional management and at the same time review skill/s.

• Math example: have the "leader" of the game grab a white board and marker and model a number (using squares for flats, lines for longs, and dots for units). The other students will raise their hand until being called on and if they get the number correct, they become the leader.

• ELA example: the leader can write a word and hide it and then give clues (such as it starts like snake, rhymes with at and is one syllable)

• This is also a way to get in some academic vocabulary. You could give them a bag of numbers and have them hold up 2. Then the students would have to say 2 comparative statements using both words on the board (greater, less)

• Line-Ups: when students are lining up have them do some oral practice

• Math example: count by 2s or 5s or 10s or backwards

• ELA example: say the short vowel sounds over and over until they are in line

• Hallway Learning: On the way to PE/Music, computer, lunch, etc. give them a "card" to keep them thinking even in the hall

• Math example: a number or clock that they have to read and tell you as you come by

• ELA example: give them a word or picture and have them tell you the prefix, suffix, or if it's a noun, verb or adjective, or a rhyming word. Or as simple as reading the word with a certain word part you have been practicing or finding the word part, etc. You could also give them a sentence with a blank or darkened word and have them figure out the word and/or give a synonym or antonym.

• This is once again a good time to hold them accountable to using that academic vocab.

• "In Between Lessons": write something on the board when you have an extra minute or two and create a routine for kids to know that they have to watch and think so they are ready to answer or turn and talk about it.

• Math example: write number patterns for skip counting forward or backwards and have the kids tell you the rule (like -10)

• ELA example: write five words and have the students tell you what they have in common or give clues for a "mystery word" from the word wall.

As you try these ideas consider having a blank checklist with student names on hand so that you can have a quick formative assessment to check their learning or form a quick re-teach small group.