Goal Setting - It's ALL Elementary!

The title pretty much sums it up - It ALL goes back to elementary!  As a middle school teacher, I, like many others, landed in a grade level I hadn't expected to be teaching when going through my college classes.  I was going to be a fourth grade teacher. (I laugh today when I hear soon to be teachers telling others the specific grades they are going to teach - isn't that just adorable?  Little do they know they will take ANY position they are offered, after realizing how difficult it is to get a job.  For anyone out there who is going to be a Kindergarten teacher, what I meant to say was, "Congratulations, that's fantastic!").  On a positive note, these individuals have set a purpose for themselves and are going to school in order to attain their goal.

As of July 15th (that's right, July 15th!) of each school year, from the time I was born through my Senior Year in high school I spent a good portion of my summer in my mother's first grade classroom.  I don't know if it was the smell of the TOXIC markers that filled my nose or the environment itself, but it always made me feel like I was meant to be there.  When I became a middle school teacher, I always received comments on how elementary my classroom was (I had student work hanging EVERYWHERE!).  When I moved into a new building, we were all told that we could not hang things on the walls because of a fire hazard - my solution was hanging things from the ceiling - a lot of things.  My belief was that if I had to spend seven to eight hours of my day in a classroom (or any place for that matter), I wanted it to be a place my student and I could call home for the time we were there. 

"Where do you want to go to college?"  This was a common question asked throughout my entire childhood.  It wasn't, "Do you want to go to college?".  This was simply a decision that would eventually have to be made.  One thing that I realized going into teaching was the fact that a number of my middle school students didn't have goals or opportunities of higher education in their future.  When identifying your PURPOSE for schooling, without establishing goals, there is NO PURPOSE.  As I've stated previously, my wife is an elementary teacher and something that I stole from her (all GOOD teachers steal their best ideas) was a Hopes and Dreams Activity her entire school would do at the beginning of each school year.  Her school was a Responsive Classroom School, and during the first days of school every member of the school community (students, teachers, parents, and staff) would write down their Hopes and Dreams for the school year and post them throughout the hallways.  Seeing this displayed in her school, I realized something: THIS IS POWERFUL!

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS - www.responsiveclassroom.org (Books, Resources, PD, and FREE newsletters)

MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS - www.originsonline.org (Books, Resource, PD, and FREE newsletter)

(I personally feel as though both sites have a ton of resources that can easily be modified for either level)

I brought this activity back to my classroom and worked with my students on creating our Hopes and Dreams for the school year.  I extended the activity for my sixth grade students by having them include their career goals. Once this activity was completed we would either post them around the room or keep them in our writing portfolios with the intention of revisiting and revising them throughout the course of the school year.  As a research project, I always had my students research the various aspects of their selected occupation.  They would then have to put a presentation together leading up to our school's career day.  As a teacher, knowing my students hopes, dreams, and goals for the future allowed me to tailor lessons and activities to their interests.  If something I was teaching wasn't working for a student I would immediately turn to this information to work with the student on resolving their problem and finding a solution to their resistance.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Key Elements to Quality PD

Something that has become apparently clear to me is just how critical I am of professional development. I always feel that PD needs to be worthwhile, allowing me and those in attendance to leave with at least one AHA moment or takeaway.  

Sadly, I took part in a professional development the other day where I actually felt uncomfortable.  The speaker provided a number of video examples and had each of the groups pair share (all strategies that I am fine with and would do in my own presentations).  What separated this presenter from the rest was the fact that he would then tell the audience he wanted people to come up to the front microphone and share out their thoughts.  At first you had one or two individuals (myself being one of them, because I can't take awkward silence) who would go up front to share at the microphone.  It then got to the point where he told the audience he was embarrassed for us and had excellent wait time (bad move).  This is when the audience shut down.

As I prepare for an upcoming PD session, one of the things I try to identify are the specific needs within grade levels and content areas.  This can many times become complicated when there are so many areas that need to be addressed in addition to annual state mandated trainings.  

1. Know Your Audience. - When preparing for a professional development session it needs to be planned specifically for your audience.  If possible, being able to identify where their current knowledge base is - can provide insight into areas that need to be addressed and areas that aren't necessary.

2. What's the Take Away? - Whenever I prepare for / or attend a workshop I am always looking for the take away.  If I'm able to go back and put to use one thing I learned from a workshop - it is workshop worthwhile.  This is what I look for when preparing workshops and ensuring that there are multiple resources that the participants can immediately put to use - should they choose.

3. When in doubt, change it out! - Although a lot of time goes into planning workshops and professional development sessions - sometimes things don't always go as planned.  One of the greatest qualities I find in teachers is when they are able to identify that something isn't working.  When this is realized , it's a prime opportunity to modify the lesson / workshop to meet the needs of the audience.  

Three things that I believa all presenters should focus on when providing professional development are :

1. Know your audience.

2. What's the take away?

3. When in doubt, change it out!

Student Achievement... Who's measuring?

Student Achievement

Two words that will generate a completely different definition depending on who you're talking to regarding the topic.  

Student Achievement - Academics (core subject area teachers)

The age of student achievement being measured by Partial Proficiency, Proficiency, and Advanced Proficiency are on their way out, as the era of Student Growth Objectives becomes the new norm (or SGO's as the popular educators refer to it).  As educators the goal has always been  that students would know more walking out of their classroom at the end of the marking period / year than they knew when they first walked into their classroom (pretty simple, right?).

Student Achievement - Arts / Extra- Curriculars 

When discussing the arts, student achievement is measured in a students ability to express themselves.  In the area of art I can hold my own with a fresh pack of crayons.  However, when it comes it music I have not excelled (although I would like to think I am able to hold a tune - my wife says otherwise). 

Student Achievement - Parental Perception

Listening to parents talk about their children, I have noticed that they always go to accomplishments.  Of course, as a parent you're going to speak to the areas where your child has found success.  The conversation usually revolves around such topics as: academics, arts, athletics, and social involvement to name a few.

Are any if these definitions of student achievement incorrect?  They are not.

The definition of achievement is a thing done successfully typically by effort, courage, and skill.  Looking at the examples above, everyone is correct in identifying achievement in the ways listed above.  

As educators, it is our responsibility to ensure that we have a defined definition within our own setting on what ACHIEVEMENT is and how it is accomplished!  If we are expecting students to show achievement we need to be able to articulate what achievement looks like in our classroom.  Once this is defined, it MUST be shared with the STUDENTS.  

As a teacher, I always started by asking my sixth grade students what they wanted to be when they grew up.  I was astonished the first year I did this, that a good majority of my students told me they didn't have goals or ideas of their future goals /occupation.  Growing up I wanted to be a police officer (... Until I realized I could be shot), then I wanted to be a doctor (..... Only to find out I would have to be in school for a REALLY long time - the irony), and finally I decided to go into education, (I get summers off, hysterical since I haven't had a summer off since I was in 8th grade) because I enjoy seeing students have that moment of realization.  I define this as the moment where you can actually SEE that they understand what was taught.  

After explaining my definition of achievement in my own classroom, I had student create long and short term goals for themselves.  A long term goal revolved around what they thought they wanted to be when they got older - a great cross curricular research project.  I told students, just as my goals changed, they could change their long term goals throughout the course of the school year as their interests developed.  When looking at short term goals, students looked at the expectations for my classroom and identified their perceptions of personal  strengths and weaknesses within my class (students had test scores and pre-assessments to develop their goals for my class.  

During parent conferences, I stayed away from the report cards (parents can read), but I felt it was more important to share with the parent their student's goal sheet, allowing us to have a conversation about how we could work together to help their student find achievement.  This conversation is all based on what the student had identified as their own personal goals - essentially a student led conference.  

The final step necessary is to have students go back to their goals and review / revise the goals they had created.  It is at this point that they need to ask themselves if they hold the same goals as they did when they started the year.  Students need to understand that it is OK to modify their goals (I'm constantly modifying my goals as an educator).  

Action Steps for Meaningful Goal Setting

1. Identify achievement within your classroom

2. Have students create long term goals (career / life) and short term goals (achievement in class) 

3. Share student goal sheet with parents to discuss goals and other needs

4. Have students periodically reflect and modify their goals throughout the course of the school year / as needed

Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another.  - John Dewey

When we look at measuring student data it is essential to meet with students  where they are and come up with an action plan (goal setting) to identify the steps necessary to move them forward.  It is when we step back and identify what our purpose is as educators, that we can truly begin focusing on student achievement.

HOT Open Ended Responses

Higher Order Thinking Questions and Open Ended Responses

In the educational world, terms like academic rigor and higher order thinking questions are continuously thrown out in conversations.  Sometimes I wonder if everyone truly knows what they're talking about - and since we're keeping things real, lets be honest..... they don't.

Something that was shared with me years ago during a workshop was the Q Chart.  The Q chart breaks down the types of questions we ask and provides quick ways to ensure the student shows understanding by thinking beyond the question.  The Q Chart has words listed down the side and across the top - you simply select a word from the side and attach it with a word from across the top to start your question.  When you follow these two words down to where they meet it shows you the type of question you are asking.  

What is......? (factual) vs. What might.......? (predictive)

Example: 

Q: What is today?

A: Today is Monday.

Q: What might someone do today?

A: Well, since today is Monday many people have to go to work. 

As a teacher, I used to keep the Q Chart posted on the front board of my classroom.  This was something that I used regularly within my lessons, and I also taught my students how to use the Q chart.  

I'll be honest, when getting observed or having an administrator in my classroom for a walkthrough, I always referred to the Q chart when asking students questions.  As a teacher, I felt responsible to know how I was being evaluated (something I can not stress enough to teachers - know your evaluation and know your contract inside and out).  I knew that I was being evaluated on whether or not I was asking my students higher order thinking questions, and I knew that I was also being evaluated on whether or not they were able to develop and ask themselves higher order thinking questions.

Easy Solution:

On a regular day (but definitely if I was being observed) I might model for the students what a higher order thinking question looks / sounds like and how they would be expected to respond.  I might then have them create their own higher order think question on a post it note (based on something we have read as a class), have them pass it to the student sitting next to them, and answer the question using an open ended response format (many of the schools I have worked use RACE: Restate the question, Answer the Question, Cite an example with page or paragraph numbers, and Elaborate by making a text, self, or world connection)

Once students have completed their open ended response, students would then pass their response to the person sitting next to them, who would have to evaluate the writing and decide (based on the open ended response rubric) what score the student would receive.  

The best part of everything I just discussed - it can ALL be done within the first 5-10 minutes of your class period.

Keeping Parents Engaged

Having worked in a number of districts I have had the opportunity to work with parents in ALL types of situations (good, bad, indifferent).  One thing I was taught as a first year administrator from my mentor was that if I was able to remove all emotions from my interactions, I would be fine.  This made me realize that at the end of the day, it had nothing to do with me (this concept took awhile for me to accept and understand).  As an Assistant Principal, if I was suspending a student, the parent wasn't necessarily upset with me as they were with the situation.  In these situations, I found the best thing I could do was LISTEN and allow the parent an opportunity to be heard.  It now became my responsibility to identify the issue / concern the parent had and be the change argent who attempted to change previously conceived perceptions.  

Communicating with Parents

As a school, parents trust us with their children for 8 hours a day.  Five days a week we spend more time with their children than they do themselves.  Various ways that schools and teachers can communicate with parents:

• Website (www.schoolnotes.com /www.edmodo.com /www.schoolrack.com ). Many of these sites offer free versions for teachers and are easy to navigate.
• School Facebook / Twitter Accounts - most individuals are "connected" now through their smart devices and this is the quickest way for many to communicate and find out upcoming events.
• Weekly / Monthly Newsletter - As a teacher, I made my students responsible for putting together the classroom newsletter.  This is a great way to let parents know about upcoming events and most importantly what you're teaching!
• Notes - utilizing the student agenda or take home folder to communicate with parents on what their children are accomplishing in class.

One thing I have found working with many new teachers (not all) is the fear that comes for many when having to call parents on the telephone.  Many teachers might feel concerned calling parents on the phone because of the reaction the parent might have - and in most cases the reaction has nothing to do with you.  As a teacher leader and administrator I believe that it's important to work with new teachers on developing this skill.  This can be accomplished by having someone sit in with you when you first start calling parents to provide you with feedback on how you did.  I have always told teachers to let the following guide them through their conversation:

• DO NOT include your emotions, opinions, or feelings ("I think....." / "I feel...")
• Keep it simple - remember your audience (this applies to phone and written communication)
• Social Media - Be aware of what others see when they GOOGLE your name - it's your career on the line.  This includes being aware of online pictures that you've been tagged.
• 1 to 2 - For every one phone call you make because of negative behaviors, you should then make two positive phone calls.  This will throw parents off, and helps you build a positive relationship with your parents.
• Document, document, document ....... I always liked using a student agenda as my own phone log and when I would speak with parents I would write down direct quotes from the whoever I was speaking with. These notes would be valuable for me when other meeting are scheduled or situations occurred.
• BE CAREFUL when responding to parents in writing - when something is put in writing you are memorializing the statement.  When in doubt - check it out (have a colleague look it over).  In emails / writing, the tone of the writing could easily be misconstrued.  

Parent Teacher Conferences

During parent teacher conferences, teachers have 10 - 20 minutes to show parents that they know their child, share work, and explain what resources are available for the parent to help their child.  I feel that in order for parent teacher conferences to be meaningful, students should play a role in putting together the materials / work that will be discussed.  In NJ we receive the NJ ASK scores at the beginning of the year, I would conference with students on their scores (disaggregated) and have them write down goals / action steps for their individualized learning plan.  This was a great student created document to use during a parent teacher conference.

I always told my students that there would be no surprises during parent teacher conferences, because there was nothing I would say to their parents that I haven't already said to their face - Keep It Real!  

If you are regularly communicating with your parents, there should be no problem keeping your conferences to 10 minutes.  If you have other people waiting to meet with you it is essential to keep the conferences moving (nothing makes parents more irritable than being made to wait past their assigned time) and reschedule to meet with that parent at another time if the conversation you're having needs to continue. 

Parent Events 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of hosting two parent events (one at 10:30am and one at 6:00pm) . The focus of the events was to help parents interpret and understand student assessment scores that had just been sent home.  This being the first event - I was very pleased with the number of parents that attended and the great questions they asked.  As an administrator, teacher, and parent, I believe that keeping parents involved in the educational program is in the best interest of their students.

Based on the feedback I received, parents were so happy to learn about how to read the results of an assessment their students had taken - something that had not been done previously.  When asking what parents were able to take away from the workshop, the main responses dealt with the resources provided for them to work with their students at home.  Seeing how beneficial the parent event was for the district I decided to try and host an event each month.  In an effort to make these events worth while for parents, I believe it's essential to apply the following:

• Events based on their interests ( I surveyed - using a google form - all parents who attended this event to get ideas for future topics)
• Convenient times (I offered a daytime and evening event)
• Plenty of time to prepare / plan (parents were informed on the district calendar, district flyer, and Facebook message)
• Child Care (while I presented, students who attended were allowed to play educational games in the connecting computer lab). 

When everything is said and done, parents want to feel like they are being listened to and involved in what they're students are learning.  Through increased communication and remaining current with different ideas / trends, I believe that we are making a conscientious effort to actively involve parents.  

What are you doing in your district to engage parents in the educational program?

Teacher Evaluations: Observations and SGO's

 

There is a lot going on in education today, and as an educational leader I believe that it is my responsibility to provide my staff with the greatest supports possible.  One way I try to support my staff is through modeling the expectation myself – demonstrating that I am not asking them to do anything I haven’t already done.  In the state of New Jersey, our new evaluation model is referred to as Achieve NJ.  Achieve NJ outlines the different evaluation models schools could have selected, changes in tenure law and minimum observations necessary for teachers, and the hottest topic right now (because they’re due on November 15^th) is the development of SGOs (Student Growth Objectives).   
 

Understanding the importance of being a reflective educator, I am always looking at these initiatives / changes and asking myself the purpose behind them.  Once I am able to identify that key component, I find I am able to support them much more willingly.  

Achieve NJ

Observations

The diagram below was presented to me by Dr. Campbell at Rowan University during an instructional supervision masters course.  He explained to the group that observations are reflected in the picture below.  Each block represents a teaching period (180 school days / 6 periods per day).  The red represents the minimum number of observations a tenured teacher received, whereas the blue represents the minimum required observations a non-tenured teacher received.   Achieve NJ has changed this requirement.  Teachers hired after August 2012, must now be employed for four years prior to earning tenure.  All teachers will be receiving a minimum of 3 observations (this varies between short observations – 20 min. and long observations– 40 min.). 

 

SGOs (Student Growth Objectives)

During this 2013-2014 school year, all teachers are required to create 1-2 Student Growth Objectives (those teachers who are in tested grades 4-8 are only required to complete 1).  The district I am in, has decided to require all staff members to create two student growth objectives to ensure that everyone is in compliance and understands the process during the first year.  The purpose of a student growth objective is to ensure that there is pre and post data based on what you are teaching to measure student growth.  What we are looking to accomplish is to see that all students show growth over the course of a school year / semester.  If John starts out the year with a 27% and then moves to a 67%, he is still failing.  Regardless of his grade, John has shown growth over the course of the school year.  If the teachers SGO was that all students in John’s category would show 30% increase from the pre to the post assessment, she achieved her objective.  

As I explained to my teachers, this is something most are already doing – we are simply putting it into writing.  The student growth objective can be basic where you might state that each student will increase by one reading level over the course of the school year, or more complex depending on the assessment you're using.

 

 

If you were creating a more detailed SGO - you would come up with different groups, based on student assessment, and what the expected growth would be for each individual group over the course of the school year.  The example that I gave to a group of teachers was if a student is already reading at the 7^th grade level (and they just entered 6^th grade), it might be difficult for that student to maintain or increase their score.  In this situation, the teacher would place this student and any other on grade level with a goal to maintain or increase in reading level.  The middle group would increase by one reading level, and the lowest group would increase by one and a half reading levels.  I would then measure my student progress throughout the course of the school year to ensure I am addressing the needs of my students. 

When completing your student growth objective, it is important to make sure that it is SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.  The due date for SGO’s this year is November 15, 2013 (future years will be October 15, 2013).  Teachers will have the opportunity to change their SGO, should they need to, up until February 15, 2014 – this would be done between you and your school administrator. 

For more information, go to:

http://www.state.nj.us/education/AchieveNJ

HAPPY SGO WRITING!

Response to Intervention

If Christopher Columbus was a student in your classroom, what tier do you believe he would fall under?

As I drove to work today, preparing for a professional development day, I realized one thing...... very few people work on Columbus Day!  Today I was scheduled to present on Response to Intervention, with the goal being that staff would be able to fully understand the model and gain new ideas when implementing the model in their classroom.

In addition to discussing the RTI Model, I also modeled a guided reading lesson with a group of staff members as my guinea pigs - demonstrating the importance of taking anecdotal notes on all students during this time period.

The above graphic truly says it all, and if you want RTI to work in your classroom or school this needs to be your mantra.  The purpose of RTI (also known as Response to Intervention) is a means for providing additional supports for students who are struggling within your class.  Through implementation of individualized support and different teaching strategies, the goal is for the student to find success and be able to eventually receive less support.  However, if the student is not showing progress they will receive additional supports  until a determination is made as to whether or not a referral should be made to child study team.  

For those unfamiliar with the RTI Model, it is broken down into three tiers:

Tier 1 - Tier 1 is representative of most of the students in your classroom.  These students understand your instruction and although they might need support here and there, it is not something that would concern you as the classroom teacher.  This tier would consist of 80%-85% of your students.

Tier 2 - I describe Tier 2 students as my lowest guided reading group.  This is that one group of students that although you meet with all of your groups 2-3 times a week, you meet with this one group 4-5 times per week.  The reason being, that without your additional support and reminders of remaining on task they would not get any of their work done.  This tier would consist of 15% - 20% of your students.

Tier 3 - When working with a Tier 3 student you are working with them in a group by themselves or maybe one other student.  The student is not responsive to whole group instruction and does not seem to show improvement through small group instruction.  

RTI is a means of providing interventions in hopes that the student would not have to be classified.  As educators it is our responsibility to ensure that parents are aware that we have different strategies to work with their students who are struggling. Educating parents on the resources available within the school can help those who are advocating for their student.  When the RTI team meets every 8-10 weeks, I have always found it beneficial (if not essential) to have a special education teacher present to review the data and offer additional suggestions/insight on the interventions recommended.  

When reviewing the data, students should be placed in tiers based on multiple measures (Benchmark Tests, State Tests, Teacher Recommendation, Grades....).  It is also important to remember that in any one of your classes you might not have any students that fall into the Tier 2 or Tier 3 category. This doesn't mean that you wouldn't offer all of your students small group or individual services through your daily classroom structure, but you would not be taking them through the RTI model.  

A critical component of implementing RTI correctly (or any program for that matter) is documenting the interventions established and identifying whether or not they have been successful.  I discussed my personal preferences for documentation in my 10/13/2013 post:

http://friendlycurriculumguy.blogspot.com/2013/10/best-instructional-practices-starting.html

In conclusion, I believe that Christopher Columbus would have been a Tier 1 student who received "challenge" activities - evidenced by his adventurous sailing of the Deep Blue Seas.

Happy Columbus Day Everyone!