Math Growth through Flexible Grouping SAS Institute December - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Math Growth

through

Flexible Grouping

SAS Institute December 7-9, 2014

“The idea that a single teacher, working alone, can know and do everything to meet the needs of 30 diverse students every day throughout the school year has rarely worked, and it certainly won’t meet the needs of learners in years to come.”

• Carroll, 2009

Eisenhower Elementary School Upper St. Clair School District 100 Warwick Dr. Upper St. Clair, PA 15241 Mark Miller mmiller@uscsd.k12.pa.us

WHY

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

FLEXIBLE !GROUPING?

OUR !RESPONSE !TO:

• !DATA
• !TRUE !SYSTEMATIC !DIFFERENTIATION
• !MATCHING !INSTRUCTION !TO !EVERY !LEARNER
• !GROWING !ALL !STUDENTS!

๏ I feel scared. Sometimes I try to listen harder but mostly it doesn’t work. ๏ I get mad. ๏ I want to go home and watch TV. ๏ After a while, I give up. ๏ I wish the teacher would know how I feel and would help me. ๏ I feel dumb. ๏ I don’t like the subject very much. ๏ I tell myself maybe I’ll get it tomorrow. ๏ I daydream. ๏ Sometimes I get in trouble. ๏ I play with my hair. My mom doesn’t like when I do that. ๏ I wish I was smart.

WHY

Students !Answer !the !Question, “What !does !it !feel !like !when !you !feel !lost !in !class?”

ASCD

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

๏ I try my best to pay attention, but it can be really hard. I try to copy down absolutely everything so I can maybe learn something. ๏ I always play with my shoes. ๏ I read ahead in the book. ๏ I draw tanks and airplanes. ๏ I make up complicated math problems. ๏ I plan out my day. ๏ I color my nails with my pen. ๏ One thing my sister taught me to do is to listen to music in my head, or to think back to a movie, to its funny parts. ๏ When I had braces, I used to play with my braces, and I had braces for four years!

WHY

Students !Answer !the !Question, “What !does !it !feel !like !when !classes !move !too !slowly?”

ASCD

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

WHAT !IS

FLEXIBLE !GROUPING

• !OUR !100 !STUDENTS, !NOT !“MY” !25
• !STUDENTS !ARE !PLACED !IN !GROUPS !BASED !ON !

CURRENT !LEVEL !OF !READINESS

• !INSTRUCTION !MATCHES !GROUP
• !IS !FLEXIBLE !FOR !STUDENT !MOVEMENT !AT !ALL !

TIMES

Instruction

Data Driven Decisions

Professional Development

Research

Administrative Support

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

through

FLEXIBLE GROUPING

Culture

MATH !GROWTH

GUIDING !QUESTIONS

to !increase !student !learning

WE !MUST !continue !to !ask !and ! answer !these !four !critical !questions:

• What is it we expect our kids to learn?
• How will we know when they have learned it?
• How will we respond when they don’t learn?
• How will we respond when they do learn?

(Dufour)

Culture

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

• Is your culture set up to support & deliver individualized and differentiated

instruction?

• Is the schedule created to increase student learning or to keep adults happy?
• Are your students assured extra time and support for learning?
• Is your response timely? How quickly are you able to identify the kids who need

extra time and support? Does your focus prompt intervention or enrichment rather than sluggish remediation?

• Is your response directive rather than invitational? Are kids invited to put in extra

time or does your system ensure they put in extra time?

• Is your response systematic? Do kids receive this intervention or enrichment

according to a school-wide plan rather than at the discretion of individual teachers? Luck of the draw is NOT acceptable.

YOUR !CHECKLIST

Culture

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

In traditional schools, each teacher in isolation

๏ decides what to teach and when to

teach it.

๏ administers infrequent summative

assessments.

๏ focuses on inputs of teaching. ๏ practices the “if only” model of

improvement-looking out of the window.

๏ determines what to do when students

don’t learn. In professional learning communities, teams of teachers

๏ build shared knowledge about

essential learning and pacing.

๏ administer frequent common

formative assessments.

๏ focus on results-evidence of learning. ๏ practice the “what if” model of

improvement-looking in the mirror.

๏ create systematic responses that

ensure learning support for every student.

(Dufour, Dufour, & Eaker. Solution Tree 2012)

NECESSARY !CULTURAL !SHIFTS

Culture

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

“The needs of the patient come first,” and we will meet those needs through “the practice of team medicine” and “unsurpassed collaboration” (Mayo Clinic Mission and Values).

As Berry and Seltman write in “Management Lessons From Mayo Clinic”(2008): “In the Mayo Clinic, teamwork is not optional-It is mandatory” (p. 51) “Patients don’t get a doctor: They get the expertise of the entire organization” (p. 50) “Collaboration, cooperation, and coordination are the three dynamics supporting the practice of team medicine at Mayo Clinic” (p. 65)

The Mayo Clinic Motto

Putting the Needs of the Patient First

DO !OUR !STUDENTS’ !NEEDS !COME !FIRST?

Culture

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

• By scheduling effectively and working together, every child should receive INSTRUCTION

BASED ON WHERE THEY ARE AS LEARNERS.

Through the use of strategies such as flexible grouping and using ALL staff efficiently and effectively we are committed to differentiating and individualizing our instruction to meet the needs of all students. All instruction should match your child’s level of academic readiness, interest level, or learner style.

• DID THEY LEARN IT? as opposed to DID WE TEACH IT?

Our primary goal is to focus on whether students learn the intended concepts, as opposed to focusing on the fact that we taught the curriculum and we need to move on. It sounds simple, but this belief is critical in providing individualized and meaningful instruction to each student.

• SECOND CHANCE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES ARE A MUST!

We are committed to providing timely, focused supports in order to give our students SECOND CHANCE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES! We assess after each lesson to determine if our students learned the concept. It is not enough to wait until the chapter test to see if students have learned.

• Unwavering belief in FOCUS ON STUDENT LEARNING! Together.
• COLLABORATION with a FOCUS!

No longer is our culture looking through the lens of a single classroom teacher of “My 25 students.” We believe we can better meet the needs of our students by utilizing the entire faculty and resources with a mindset of “Our 500 students.”

• RESPOND SYSTEMATICALLY!

Our belief is that EVERY child will get equal opportunity to receive individualized instruction, challenges, and supports no matter the grade level or classroom.

USC’s BELIEFS FOR GROWING LEARNERS

Culture

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

D A T A D R I V E N D E C I S I O N S

DATA !DRIVEN !DECISIONS

๏ Pretest, rate of acquisition, prior performance, parent information should be taken into account

• Students can move within the chapter/topic/unit/

novel to suit their needs ๏ Local Assessments

• Common pretests
• Common posttests

๏ Assessment FOR Learning

• Quick checks
• Quizzes & Homework
• CheckS for understanding (lesson by lesson basis)

USING !ALL !TYPES !OF !DATA !MATTERS!

• Utilize instructional techniques that fit the group
• CUSTOMIZE in-class instructional practices
• CUSTOMIZE homework that reflects classroom instruction
• CUSTOMIZE guided and independent practice activities

depending on level of group

• Set high/appropriate expectations for every group and learner

I N S T R U C T I O N

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

FLEXIBLE !GROUPING

ALLOWS !US !TO !CUSTOMIZE

• Group sizes vary based on current level of readiness
• Utilize ALL available staff to lower the instructional size of

some groups with an emphasis on differentiating based on the learners

• Split students into small groups during some guided and

independent practice time

• Utilize student teachers to work with small groups during

independent practice time

• Instruction MUST match the instructional needs of each group

(Focus of instruction and learning objective should be at different places on the same day across the grade level.)

STRUCTURAL !IMPACT !OF

FLEXIBLE !GROUPING

I N S T R U C T I O N

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

๏ Principal

• Schedules
• Staffing needs
• Assist with parent communication
• Understand and support the philosophy of

flexible grouping

• Walkthroughs, observations, and discussions

(formal and informal) should focus on being informative/supportive with an emphasis growth

ADMINISTRATIVE !SUPPORT

Admin. Support

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

๏ Curriculum Leader

• Professional development training
• Identify needs at each grade level for

resources, training, etc.

• Budgeting for materials that may be needed to

help customize

• Sharing research with teaching staff on best

practices

• Assist with parent communication (Open

House, Flyers)

ADMINISTRATIVE !SUPPORT

Admin. Support

๏ Professional Learning Community (PLC) Culture ๏ District’s Math Curriculum ๏ Math Instruction/Best Practices

• Math Talk
• Inquiry-Based
• Questioning

๏ Customizing Beyond the Adopted Curriculum

• Pace and Rigor
• Materials
• Content

๏ Common Core Standard and PA Core Standards

PD

PROFESSIONAL !DEVELOPMENT

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

๏ Develop the criteria for placement, regrouping, and movement of children during a chapter or topic. ๏ Philosophy of rotating teachers with groups

• Teachers should not stay with the

same group all year.

PD

PROFESSIONAL !DEVELOPMENT

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014

R E S E A R C H

RESEARCH/RATIONALE

๏ “Grouping for Instruction in the Elementary School” by Robert E. Slavin (Center for Research on Elementary and Middle Schools, Johns Hopkins University) ๏ The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners by Carol Ann Tomlinson ๏ STEM: “Differentiating Mathematics Instruction so Everyone Learns” by Jennifer Taylor-Cox, Ph.D. ๏ “The Effects of Grouping Curricular Practices on Intermediate Students’ Math Achievements” by Carol Tieso, University of Alabama ๏ Eisenhower Elementary School Data: ๏ Pre and Post Test Data ๏ Eisenhower Power Data on Retesting/Second Chance Learning ๏ PSSA Data ๏ PVAAS Data