2014-­‐15  L.I.F.  Focus  

Improving  Learning  For  All  

Crea%ng  Schools  and  Classrooms    Where  All  Students  Belong  

MIddle  

Faye  Brownlie  www.slideshare.net    

Learning Intentions: •  We  have  reviewed  our  journey  to  date.  •  We  have  grown  our  ways  of  collecDng  and  using  informaDon  on  our  students  to  make  class  learning  plans  from  class  reviews.  

•  We  have  polished  our  mental  models  of  learning  frameworks.  

•  We  have  new  ideas  of  HOW  to  collaborate  in  co-­‐teaching.  

•  We  are  leaving  with  a  revised  school  plan  of  acDon.  

Big Ideas…  As  a  school  community  we  want  to  work  together  to  meet  the  needs  of  all  students.  

Inclusion  is  not  a  special  educaDon  model;  it  is  a  school  model.  

As  professionals  we  want  to  constantly  examine  and  refine  our  pracDce.  

CollaboraDve  problem-­‐solving  and  teaching  results  in  new  ideas,  new  products  and  a  feeling  of  connecDon.    

Our  students  conDnue  to  change  and  learn  and  their  needs,  just  like  the  school’s,  will  change  over  the  course  of  the  year.  

Brownlie  &  Schnellert    It’s  All  About  Thinking

Your  Plan  

•  Examine  your  plan  from  last  year  – What’s  working?  

– What’s  not?  – What’s  next?  

C  

Class  Review  -­‐gathering  

informaDon  

-­‐strengths-­‐based  

-­‐acDon  oriented  

Gr  8  core  team  –  4  teachers,  1  .5  RT  

•  Strengths  – EnergeDc  – Dynamic  and  strong  – Self-­‐moDvated,  leadership  potenDal  – All  hand  in  math  assignments  

– Work  well  as  a  group  –  no  anger  – Like  to  read  

•  Needs  – Overly  dynamic  personaliDes  that  tend  to  squash  others  

– Few  students  constantly  disrupt  with  their  enthusiasm  

– Significant  lack  of  math  basic  skills  (1/3)  

– Need  social  Dme  – Only  want  to  work  with  friends  – Don’t  like  science  much  

•  Goals  – Learn  to  work  with  all  others  – Risk  taking  rather  than  having  to  be  safely  right  – Community  building  in  English/Language  Arts  – 3  students  with  behavior  challenges  tend  to  hold  the  class  hostage  

– Thinking  more  deeply  

–  Independent  quesDoning  –  rely  on  teacher  quesDons  

•  Decisions  – QuesDoning  from  pictures  –  in  science  and  in  social  studies  

– Building  thoughbul  responses  in  English/Language  Arts  –  teacher  model,  build  criteria,  students  write  to  criteria  and  get  feedback  

– Quick  partners  (speed  daDng)  in  all  classes  –  2  minutes/3  minutes  

– Build  class  code  of  conduct  and  have  students  self-­‐assess  and  set  goals  

Rationale for Collaboration:  

•  By  sharing  our  collec%ve  knowledge  about  the  whole  class  and  developing  a  plan  of  ac%on  based  on  this,  we  can  beAer  meet  the  needs  of  all  students.  

Goal:  

•  to  support  students  to  be  successful  learners  in  the  classroom  environment    

A Key Belief

•  When  interven%on  is  focused  on  classroom  support  it  improves  each  student’s  ability  and  opportunity  to  learn  effec%vely/successfully  in  the  classroom.  

No plan, No point

Co-teachers: When two teachers are in the room,

they can…  •  Work  from  a  plan  based  on  students’  strengths  and  

needs  •  Differen%ate  instruc%on  •  Use  AFL  strategies  to  assess  understanding    •  Increase  par%cipa%on  of  all  students  •  Decrease  behavioral  challenges  •  Focus  aAen%on  •  Increase  student  independence    •  Teach  self-­‐regula%on  •  Model  posi%ve,  strengths-­‐based  language  •  Talk  to  each  other  about  what  they  are  learning  about  

their  students  

Co-Teaching Models (Teaching in Tandem – Effective Co-Teaching in the Inclusive Classroom – Wilson

& Blednick, 2011, ASCD)  

•  1  teach,  1  support  •  Parallel  groups  •  Sta%on  teaching  •  1  large  group;  1  small  group  

•  Teaming  

1  Teach,  1  Support  

•  most  frequently  done,  least  planning  •  advantage:  focus,  1:1  feedback,  if  alternate  roles,  no  one  has  the  advantage  or  looks  like  the  real  teacher,  can  capitalize  one  1’s  strengths  and  build  professional  capacity  

•  possible  piRall:  easiest  to  go  off  the  rails  and  have  one  teacher  feel  as  an  ‘extra  pair  of  hands’,  no  specific  task  (buzzing  radiator)  

1 Teach, 1 Support: Examples •  demonstra%ng  a  new  strategy  so  BOTH  teachers  can  use  it  the  next  day  –  e.g.,  think  aloud,  ques%oning  from  pictures  

Close  Reading/Building  Background  Knowledge  

Armstrong  –  Cassandra  Alexandra,  gr.  7  

Text:  Square  and  Fair  (Reading  and  Responding,  6)  •  Modeled  think  aloud  F  •  Collected  students  ‘noDces’  F  •  In  partners,  read  next  chunk  Both  F  and  A  •  Collected  strategies  •  Repeat  •  Write  around  together  with  one  statement  •  Ticket  out  the  door:    one  thing  that  struck  you    

Square  and  Fair  

Discover  how  fair  trade  chocolate  helps  kids  around  the  world.  

The  BiAer  Truth  about  Chocolate  It’s  the  world’s  favourite  sweet  treat.    We  eat  three  million  tonnes  of  it  every  year.    But  most  farmers  and  their  families  who  grow  the  cocoa  beans  to  make  our  beloved  chocolate  are  desperately  poor.  

Many,  many  people  around  the  world  grow  cocoa,  so  farmers  cannot  demand  a  fair  price  for  their  crop.    Big  companies  that  buy  cocoa  can  shop  around  unDl  they  find  farmers  who  will  sell  their  crop  cheap.  

Parallel  Groups  

•  both  teachers  take  about  half  the  class  and  teach  the  same  thing.      

•  must  be  co-­‐planned,  requires  trust  in  each  other,    

•  must  each  know  the  content  and  the  strategies.  

•  advantage:    half  class  size  -­‐  more  personal  contact,  more  individual  aAen%on  

Parallel group: Examples •  Fishbowl:    inside/outside  circle  

Inquiry Circles on Mesopotamia •  Fishbowl  of  inquiry  circles  

– Read  to  find  what’s  important  and/or  interesDng  and  defend  with  2  pieces  of  evidence  -­‐  “because”  

•  With  Sue  Jackson,  Minnekhada  

•  Co-­‐create  criteria  for  effecDve  group  •  Assign  students  to  topic  groups  •  Students  read  to  choose  ‘the  best  invenDon’  •  In  groups,  each  talks  by  supporDng  his/her  opinion  with  evidence  

Sta%on  Teaching  

•  mostly  small  groups,  more  individual  aAen%on,    

•  each  teacher  has  2  groups,  1  working  independently  at  a  sta%on  or  wri%ng,  1  working  directly  with  the  teacher.      

•  Requires  student  self  regula%on  (which  needs  to  be  taught)  and  planning  for  meaningful  engagement.  

Station Teaching: Examples •  Calcula%onna%on.nctm.org  

– Both  monitoring  pairs  of  students    

•  Literature  circles  or  informa%on  circles:  each  teacher  is  working  with  one  group  while  the  other  groups  work  independently  or  as  individuals.  

1  Large  Group,  1  Small  Group  

•  advantage:      either  teacher  can  work  with  either  group,  can  provide  tutorial,  intensive,  individual  

•  possible  piRall:    don’t  want  same  kids  always  in  the  ‘get  help’  group    

Large group, small group: Examples •  One  runs  the  wri%ng  workshop,  while  the  second  holds  small  group  edi%ng  conferences.  

•  A^er  the  introduc%on  of  the  math  lesson,  one  monitors  and  supports  the  larger  group,  while  the  other  con%nues  to  teach  a  smaller  group  who  need  addi%onal  support.  

•  One  group  in  informa%on  circles  needs  more  support  so  a^er  the  whole  group  intro,  one  teacher  stays  with  this  group  while  the  other  monitors  and  supports  the  remaining  4-­‐5  groups  

Graphic Novels

Graphic Novels

Tales    

Teaming  

•  most  seamless.      •  co-­‐planned    •  teachers  take  alternate  roles  and  lead-­‐taking  as  the  lesson  proceeds.  

•  advantages:  capitalizes  on  both  teachers’  strengths,  models  collabora%on  teaching/learning  to  students,  can  adjust  instruc%on  readily  based  on  student  need,  flexible  

•  possible  piRalls:    trust  and  skill  •  Most  o^en  in  whole  class  instruc%on  and  could  be  followed  up  with  any  of  the  other  four  co-­‐teaching  models    

•  What  can  you  try?  •  How  does  this  informaDon  match  with  your  school/team  goals?  

•  How  can  you  share  this  with  others  at  your  school?  

•  Trust  your  professional  experDse  •  Collaborate:    2  heads  are  bemer  than  1  

•  Respond  to  the  needs  of  your  students  •  NO  program  exists  that  can  replace  YOU!!!