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Historical perspective on “Railside”
Principles of Complex Instruction
Idea of smartness
Issues of status during groupwork
Strategies equitable interaction
1270 students in grades 8 – 12, by ethnicity:56.7% White20.2% Latino/Latina10% Asian 5.5% African-American 4.8% Filipino 2% American Indian 0.7% Pacific Islander
1636 students in grades 9 - 12, by ethnicity:13.6% White42.7% Latino/Latina25.8% African-American 7.9 % Asian 7.2% Filipino 0.6% American Indian 2.1% Pacific Islander
8th grade: 8A, 8B, 8C (placement by test & recommendation of 7th grade teacher)
Grades 9-12 offerings:Arithmetic Pre-AlgebraMath 1-2 Algebra IMath 3-4 GeometryGeneral Math Algebra II
Math Analysis
Algebra I Sheltered Algebra IGeometry and Art GeometryAlgebra IIPre-calculusA. P. Calculus
We had a problem to which none of us had the solution, but we were willing to “take it on.”
Belief that together we would solve our problem with support of the principal and resources from outside, as needed and as available.
Everyone who was teaching mathematics agreed to attend monthly meetings of the department, to share knowledge of resources, and to participate.
Everyone agreed to attend one professional learning opportunity each year and to share learning with the rest of us.
We all agreed to implement what we learned and to talk about how it went.
The mathematics department wanted to have a say in the hiring of new teachers of mathematics.
Asked that mathematics classes would be taught by those qualified or willing to work with the department to learn.
‘86-’87: five workshops – each on a strand of the CA 1985 framework, all involved a problem-solving approach and making sense
‘88-’89: introduction to Complex Instruction through Ruth Cossey’s piloting of a unit
‘89-’90: Dan Brutlag piloted one of his “Investigations” units in a Math 8 class
What if a part of “the problem” is what and how we are teaching and the courses we offer our students?
What might we do differently?
To detrack our 8th grade math classes, beginning in 1988-89, for three years
Learning of teachers that year: - we needed support from each other- surprised by what students could do- we had so much to learn!
Students work together in a group small enough so that everyone can participate on a task that has been clearly assigned.
Students are expected to carry out their task without direct and immediate supervision of the teacher.
is an approach designed to counter differences in social and academic status in mixed-ability classrooms.
has its roots in a sociological analysis of central features of classrooms - the nature of the task, the roles of students and teachers, and the patterns of interaction.
(Cohen & Lotan, 1997)
Curricular Materials
Instructional Strategies
Status & Accountability
Principles of Complex Instruction
focus more on how our students were smart rather than on their deficits
became curious about what led to more student interaction
invited each other into our classrooms to look together and talk about what we saw
. . . . yet!
Change our focus from “Who is smart?” to “How is each person smart?”
“Every student in your class is an expert in some valued intellectual skill. Try and find out what these are.”
- Elizabeth Cohen
“To a great extent, students develop expectations for competence (i.e., their perceptions of ‘smarts’) for themselves and for others based on the teacher’s public evaluations of classroom performance.”
- Rachel Lotan in “Teaching Teachers to Build Equitable Classrooms”
Many ways to be smart are valued by the teacher and the students.
Students frequently and successfully demonstrate their “smarts” and are recognized publicly for their competence and accomplishments.
“smartness”
learning of mathematics
teaching of mathematics
Must establish a productive and safe learning environment where students learn they can trust each other as they engage in conceptually challenging and intellectually rich learning tasks
Must teach students the skills to interact respectfully and productively;
Must give them rich enough tasks around which to engage, to struggle, to learn
Must intervene in ways that support their interaction and engagement, but also push on their understanding of key concepts
Must be vigilant about issues of status
Between teachers
Between teachers and students
Between students
Between teachers and administrators
Each teacher would have two preps: one “foundation” class, one higher level class
New teachers would learn to teach the foundation class through a system of “following”
A status issue is seen as non-participation or dominance growing from “agreed-upon” rankings within a group with relation to
perceived academic ability and/or
attractiveness as a friend/popularity
delegate authority through the use of norms and roles
provide learning tasks that require many different intellectual abilities for their completion and that promote interaction
present a multiple-ability orientation to alert students to abilities needed
Students make the groups work by serving as intellectual, academic, and linguistic resources for one another and by holding each other accountable.
observe and document interaction
intervene to:- assess understanding of individuals- “push” on students thinking/talking- hold individuals & groups accountable- identify contributions of specific
students
When teachers and students alike are able to recognize and value the diverse intellectual contributions of all students in heterogeneous classrooms, they show their commitment to close the achievement gap and to develop democratic and caring classrooms.
- Lotan (2006)
• Experience engaging in a groupworthy task with a multiple-ability orientation and interventions
• Debrief
• Make connections with the principles of Complex Instruction
1) what do you believe it means to be smart?
2) do you think others with whom you work share the same meaning for that word?
3) what do you think your students mean when they say someone is smart?
“How to Recognize Complex Instruction in the Classroom” (handout)
Bibliography of articles and books (handout)
Contact information (after this week):[email protected]
