Effective Strategies to Include Rigor in Classroom Instruction Dr. Linda Wallinger Assistant...
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Effective Strategies to Include Rigor in Classroom Instruction Dr. Linda Wallinger Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Virginia Department of Education July 1, 2012
Effective Strategies to Include Rigor in Classroom Instruction Dr. Linda Wallinger Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Virginia Department of Education
Effective Strategies to Include Rigor in Classroom Instruction
Dr. Linda Wallinger Assistant Superintendent for Instruction
Virginia Department of Education July 1, 2012
Slide 3
2 What is Rigor? Is it: Having a high failure rate in your
class? Issuing zeroes for incomplete work? Weeding out students
from honors classes? Or rather: Providing challenging content
through effective instructional approaches that lead to the
development of cognitive strategies that students can use when they
dont know what to do next.
Slide 4
3 What is Rigor? Rigor requires active participation from both
teachers and students. It asks students to use content to solve
complex problems and to develop strategies that can be applied to
other situations, make connections across content areas, and
ultimately draw conclusions and create solutions on their own.
Slide 5
4 What is Rigor? Rigor requires students to not only learn the
foundational knowledge of the content area, but to apply it to
real-world situations. Rigor requires teachers to create a learning
environment where students use their knowledge to create meaning
for a broader purpose. Students learn how to develop alternative
strategies if their first attempts are unsuccessful.
Slide 6
5 Understanding the Rigor of Virginias Standards of Learning
Make sure to reference the most recent versions of the Standards of
Learning and the Curriculum Frameworks. The curriculum frameworks
for each of the tested subject areas provide details about the
specific knowledge and skills students must possess to meet the
standards for these subjects.
Slide 7
6 Aspects of Rigor High Expectations Support for Learning
Demonstration of Learning
Slide 8
7 High Expectations Let your students know you truly believe
they can meet increased expectations. Focus on the application of
knowledge through higher-order thinking skills. Encourage extended
responses, scaffold a weak response, avoid answering the question
yourself if the student doesnt know the answer.
Slide 9
8 Support for Learning Make your expectations clear to students
and parents. Identify effective scaffolding strategies to help
students reach a higher level of understanding. Consider graphic
organizers, chunking information, drawing relationships between
concepts, and other effective learning tools.
Slide 10
9 Demonstration of Learning Assessment can take many forms; it
doesnt have to be a test. Identify strategies to assess students
progress frequently and in a manner that provides feedback. Review
the samples of the technology enhanced items from the Standards of
Learning tests and use similar formats in your formative
assessments. www.doe.virginia.gov
Slide 11
10 Preview and Follow the Concepts Identify how a concept was
introduced in the previous grade or subject level, and how it will
be used in the next grade or subject. The searchable Enhanced Scope
and Sequence lesson plans in each of the tested subject areas may
be a useful tool in making these connections between grades. Use
the English learning progressions for reading, writing, grammar,
and research.
Slide 12
11 Begin with the End in Mind Virginias College and Career
Ready Performance Expectations in English and Mathematics define
the level of achievement students must reach to be academically
prepared for success in entry-level credit-bearing college courses.
Senior Seminar or Capstone Courses in English and mathematics
support students who need additional instruction to meet these
expectations before leaving high school students who may be college
intending but not yet college ready.
Slide 13
12 Purpose of Capstone Courses EnglishMathematics Enhance
critical reading and thinking Reinforce fundamentals of academic
writing, including exposition, persuasion, and argumentation
Enhance skills in number and quantity, functions and algebra,
geometry, and statistics and probability Reinforce adaptability and
flexibility, creativity and innovation, leadership, team work,
collaboration, and work ethic
Slide 14
13 Skills Reinforced in Capstone Courses EnglishMathematics
Refine topics Develop and support ideas and hypotheses Investigate,
evaluate, and incorporate appropriate resources Edit for effective
style and usage Determine appropriate approaches for a variety of
contexts, audiences, and purposes Research, collect, and analyze
data Develop and support ideas and conjectures Investigate,
evaluate, and incorporate appropriate resources Determine
appropriate problem-solving approaches and decision-making
algorithms in a variety of real-world contexts and applied
settings
Slide 15
14 Evidence of Rigor Students not only learn, do, and reflect.
They also master skills such as: Critical thinking, Problem
solving, Creativity, Collaboration, Project management, and Written
and oral communication.
Slide 16
15 Strategies to Reinforce Critical Skills Develop similar
expectations for students at different grade levels and in
different content areas. Keep the activities and assignments
active, engaging, and student-centered. Consult the Department of
Educations Web site for additional information on the application
of rigor in particular content areas.
Slide 17
16 Tony Wagners 7 Survival Skills for Students 1.Critical
Thinking and Problem Solving 2.Collaboration and Leadership
3.Agility and Adaptability 4.Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
5.Effective Oral and Written Communication 6.Accessing and
Analyzing Information 7.Curiosity and Imagination
Slide 18
17 Variation on Blooms Taxonomy Remember acquire new
information Understand summarize new learning Apply apply new
learning within the same discipline Analyze apply new learning
across disciplines Evaluate apply new learning to real-world
predictable situations Synthesize apply new learning to real-world
unpredictable situations
Slide 19
18 Planning for Rigor in the Classroom Rigor pushes students to
not only know information but also to apply and demonstrate their
understanding of that information in ways that require reflection
and analysis of thinking and learning. Rigor may mean rethinking
the kinds of instruction you are providing and the kinds of
responses you are asking of your students.
Slide 20
19 Standards of Learning and SOL-Based Resources 2008 History
and Social Science Standards of Learning -
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/history_so
cialscience/index.shtml
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/history_so
cialscience/index.shtml 2009 Mathematics Standards of Learning -
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/mathemat
ics/index.shtml
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/mathemat
ics/index.shtml 2010 English Standards of Learning -
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/re
view.shtml
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/re
view.shtml 2010 Science Standards of Learning -
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/science/re
view.shtml
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/science/re
view.shtml
Slide 21
20 Standards of Learning and SOL-Based Resources What Parents
& Students Should Know About the New Virginia Mathematics
Standards of Learning -
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/mat
hematics/parents_students_should_know.shtml
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/mat
hematics/parents_students_should_know.shtml SOL Practice Items -
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/practice_items/index.shtml
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/practice_items/index.shtml
2009 Mathematics Standards of Learning Technology Enhanced Items: A
Video Demonstration - http://vaassessments.com/v/VAteidemo/
http://vaassessments.com/v/VAteidemo/
Slide 22
21 Resources Used In This Presentation Blackburn, B. R. (2012).
Rigor Made Easy: Getting Started. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education,
Inc. Conley, D. T. (2005). College Knowledge: What it Really Takes
for Students to Succeed and What We Can Do to Get Them Ready. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Summary at
http://www.avid.org/dl/res_research/research_collegeknowledge.pdf.
(Retrieved April 30, 2012.)
http://www.avid.org/dl/res_research/research_collegeknowledge.pdf
Conley, D. T. (March 2007). Redefining College Readiness. Eugene,
OR: Educational Policy Improvement Center.
http://www.aypf.org/documents/RedefiningCollegeReadiness.pdf.
(Retrieved April 20, 2012.)
http://www.aypf.org/documents/RedefiningCollegeReadiness.pdf Lenz,
B. (May 27, 2008). The Four Rs: Rigor in Twenty-First-Century-
Schools. San Rafael, CA: Edutopia.
http://www.edutopia.org/envision- schools-rigor. (Retrieved April
30, 2012.)http://www.edutopia.org/envision- schools-rigor
Slide 23
22 Resources Used In This Presentation Paulson, N. (December 7,
2008). Best Teaching Practices for Rigor in Learning.
http://marcypaulson.suite101.com/rigor-in-the-classroom-
a82689/print. (Retrieved April 30,
2012.)http://marcypaulson.suite101.com/rigor-in-the-classroom-
a82689/print Virginia Department of Education. College and Career
Readiness Web Site.
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/college_career_readiness/index.s
html. (Retrieved May 6, 2012.)
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/college_career_readiness/index.s
html Wagner, T. (October 2008). Rigor Redefined in Educational
Leadership, Volume 66, Number 22, Pages 20-25.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
leadership/oct08/vol66/num22/Rigor-Redefined.aspx. (Retrieved April
30, 2012.) http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
leadership/oct08/vol66/num22/Rigor-Redefined.aspx Williamson, R.
& Blackburn, B. R. (2010). 4 Myths About Rigor in the
Classroom. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, Inc.
http://www.eyeoneducation.com/Blog/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1
786/4-Myths-About-Rigor-in-the-Classroom. (Retrieved April 30,
2012).
http://www.eyeoneducation.com/Blog/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1
786/4-Myths-About-Rigor-in-the-Classroom
