NH DOE Redesigning School

Redesigning Schools for the 21st Century

A Changing Economy Makes Education more Important

1900 1950 20000%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Low skill jobs Knowledge work jobs

Chris Wardlaw, "Mathematics in Hong Kong/China – Improving on Being First in PISA"

Expectations for Learning are Changing

The new context means new expectations. Most studies include:Ability to communicateAdaptability to changeAbility to work in teamsPreparedness to solve problemsAbility to analyse and conceptualiseAbility to reflect on and improve performanceAbility to manage oneselfAbility to create, innovate and criticiseAbility to engage in learning new things at all timesAbility to cross specialist borders

NAEP, 8th and 12th Grade Science

1. What two gases make up most of the Earth's atmosphere?

A) Hydrogen and oxygen B) Hydrogen and nitrogen C) Oxygen and carbon dioxide D) Oxygen and nitrogen 2. Is a hamburger an example of stored

energy? Explain why or why not.____________________________________ ____________________________________

Factory Model High Schools Cannot Meet Today’s Needs

75-80% graduate from high school 60% of graduates go on to college

40-50% of college entrants finish About 25% of the age cohort gets a

college degree

Yet 70% of jobs involve “knowledge work” requiring specializedhigher education, and many high-tech jobs are filled by workers trained overseas

Why think about redesign?

Every organization is perfectly structured

to get the results that it gets.

Effectiveness of Education Systems

JAP

HKGKOR

FINCAN

NZL

UK

IRE

AU

SWE

ICE

US

HUN

POL

ITA

RUS

POR

GRE

ISR

THAIMEX

CHI

ARG

IND

BRA

AUS

BEL

SWZ

NOR

CZR

DEN

ESP

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Sources: OECD education at a glance 2002; OECD PISA report 2002; EMB Education Indicators, from Chris Wardlaw, "Mathematics in Hong Kong/China – Improving on Being First in PISA"

Mean PISA score across reading maths and science literacy

Inve

stm

ent

in e

duca

tion

as %

of

GD

P

Investment in education as % of GDP, compared with mean PISA score

What are High-Achieving Nations Doing?

A lean curriculum focused on deep understanding and higher order skills

Performance assessments to gauge progress with classroom-based assessments as part of the system

Massive investments in initial teacher education and school-level teacher support (including teacher time)

Smaller schools with continuous relationships Equitable spending, with extra investments in high-need

schools and students

Smaller Redesigned Schools Produce Better Outcomes

40 years of research show that smaller high schools with thoughtful designs produce

Higher achievement Higher graduation rates More positive feelings about school Greater safety More leadership opportunities for students

To design a new System it’s important to

understand the old system

And what you need from the new

System

Schools Designed in 1910 Adopted the Factory Model

Schools are often large & bureaucratized Students change teachers each year Secondary students see many teachers in large groups

(the “platoon” system) Teachers do not share students Teachers plan & teach alone Curriculum is fragmented Counselors have large case loads Parents have no easy way to connect to teachers

Bureaucratic Management of Teaching

Source:The Right to Learn by Linda Darling-Hammond, p. 200

Within this system:

More managerial coordination was needed Less money made it to the classroom Curriculum & staff effort became more

fragmented Relationships became less personalized There was less front-line accountability for

outcomes

U.S Schools Spend Education Dollars Differently than do Other High-Achieving Countries

52% of US ed. $ reach the classroom vs. 80% in high-achieving European and Asian countries

43% of US education employees are classroom teachers vs. 70-80% in other countries

Teachers’ work is more discontinuous (1 subject for one semester or year vs. 2 subjects for >1 yr.)

Teachers have much less time to work together to create a coherent, high-quality program

Old Assumptions:How is the work to be done?

Division of labor by subject / department Batch processing of students

(batches of 25 to 30; 5 times per day) Isolated teachers in egg crate classrooms Differentiation of curriculum (tracking) Add on programs to handle problems

Old Assumptions: How much work needs to be done? And how

variable is the work to be done?

How much work? Whatever amount fits into the designated structures and can be done in four years

How variable is the work? If kids vary in their ‘ability,’ curriculum content should be watered down for them, but time, resources, and work design do not vary

New Assumptions:

What Work Needs to Be Done?High levels of learning focused on critical thinking for all students

How is the Work to Be Done?Organized around clear standards and assessments of real performance

What needs to change? ….

Studies of Successful School Redesign: Factors influencing new school success

1. Small Size and Personalization Small classes; reduced pupil loadAdvisement relationships

2. Teams working continuously with students3. Coherent, purposeful curriculum tied to4. Performance Assessments & exhibitions5. Adaptive pedagogy

Explicit teaching of key skillsMultiple strategies for active learningReal-world connections

Factors influencing new school success

6. Flexible supports (routinely available)Resource roomTutoring; homework timeSaturday School“Labs” or foundation courses alongside heterogenous courses

7. Collaborative planning & professional development w/ regularly scheduled time

Personalization

“School should not be mass production. It should be loving and close. This is what kids need; you need love to learn.”

-- a student at Vanguard HS, New York City

Smaller classesReduced Pupil Loads

AdvisoriesReallocation of Staff

Less Fragmented Schedules

“I had passing grades when I decided to drop-out. Nobody tried to stop me. Nobody cared. None of the counselors paid any attention to me. The only time I ever saw the principal was when I got sent to him, which I never stayed around for. The individual classes were too big for students to learn, students should have longer exposure to individual teachers. If students could have the same subject teachers throughout their high school careers, this would allow teachers to get to know students better. No high school should have more than 400 students max, and all on one floor. Who needs seven floors in a school?”

-- A recent city school dropout

In U.S. Schools, there is…

1 adult for every 9 students in schools 1 professional adult for every 13 students 1 classified teacher for every 18 students Average class size of 25 Average pupil load in high schools of

1:120 to 180

Resource Allocation Differences

Resource Indicator Traditional Big School

Small School #1 Small School #2

Full-time teachers as a % of all staff

58% 67% 73%

% of staff teaching or working with advisories

68% 100% 87%

Class Period 48 min. 75 min. 120 min.

Average Class Size 33.4 25 20

Average Pupil Load 167 75 40

Joint Planning Time 45 min./wk. 6 hours/wk. 7.5 hours/wk.

Typical High School Teacher Schedule

Monday Tuesday Wed. Thurs. Friday

8:05-8:49 Planning Planning Planning Planning Planning

8:54-9:36 Class Class Class Class Class


10:30-11:12 Duty Duty Duty Duty Duty

11:17-12:00 Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch




Redesigned Teacher Schedule

Monday Tuesday Wed. Thurs. Friday

Advisory8:00-9:00 Planning Planning Planning Planning9:00-11:00 Humanities Humanities

Team

Meeting

Humanities Humanities Humanities

11:00-12:00 Humanities Team

Meeting

Humanities Meetings, Planning

Humanities

12:00-1:00 House Meeting 2x month @

lunch

Lunch

1:00-1:45 Lunch Elective Lunch Elective Lunch

1:45-3;00 Advisory Elective Advisory Elective Staff Meeting

Continuous relationships

“Through looping, I’ve had my students in math and science class for two years now. What strikes me most is the progress of students who often get lost in the system – the shy ones who now ask questions because they trust me, the unmotivated ones who now come in for help because they know I’ll be supportive, and the defiant ones who now recognize that I’m an ally who cares for them. These are the kids who need adults’ support the most, but it takes them the longest to develop relationships. Looping gives us the time to make these relationships happen.”

-- a teacher at Benjamin Franklin Intermediate School, Daly City, California

High Standards and Performance Assessment

Clear goals and Common expectationsSchool engagement in standard-settingFocus on student workPerformance and exhibitionHigh Standards for Adults as well as StudentsOpportunities for revision and redemption

“When you take a test you don’t feel like you need to know it after it’s done. The portfolio stuff sticks in your brain better.”

-- a New York City student

Performance Assessments Include:

Performance tasks that ask students to do or demonstrate something specific (e.g. research a problem, design a computer program, conduct an experiment)

Student work samples that are scored basedon standards – e.g. math solutions, essays

Portfolios that collect & evaluate work over time

Exhibitions that are evaluated by outside jurors

Teacher documentation based on observation of performance (e.g. miscue analyses, reading records)

High School Biology Exam, Victoria, Australia

3. When scientists design drugs against infectious agents, the term “designed drug” is often used. A. Explain what is meant by this term. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Scientists aim to develop a drug against a particular virus that infects humans. The virus has a protein coat and different parts of the coat play different roles in the infective cycle. Some sites assist in the attachment of the virus to a host cell; others are important in the release from a host cell. The structure is represented in the following diagram:

The virus reproduces by attaching itself to thesurface of a host cell and injecting its DNA into the hostcell. The viral DNA then uses the components of host cellto reproduce its parts and hundreds of new viruses bud offfrom the host cell. Ultimately the host cell dies.

Analysis and Application of Knowledge

B. Design a drug that will be effective against this virus. In your answer outline the important aspects you would need to consider. Outline how your drug would prevent continuation of the cycle of reproduction of the virus particle. Use diagrams in your answer. Space for diagrams is provided on the next page. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Design and Scientific Inquiry

Before a drug is used on humans, it is usually tested on animals. In this case, the virus under investigation also infects mice.

C. Design an experiment, using mice, to test the effectiveness of the drug you have designed. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Family and community connections

“At our school, there is a true partnership between parents and teachers. It feels like we are both raising the same child.”

-- A parent at San Francisco Community School

Families as experts and partnersLooking at student work togetherRegular meetings with advisors

Student-led conferences

The district role shifts from

Proliferating programs Enforcing procedures Rationing educational

opportunities Allowing and excusing

failure Creating hierarchies of

staff to manage compliance

Rewarding staff for “Doing things right”

Focusing effort Building capacity & skillsExpanding successful programsRe-allocating resources to prevent or remedy failureCreating quality teams to manage improvementRewarding staff for “Doing the right things”

Key Questions for Districts

What should be done at the center and what should be done at the schools?

What district structures are working to support school learning and improvement?

What functions are currently fragmented or dysfunctional and need re-examination?

What gets rewarded in your system? What are the incentives for change?