Learning Walks at WMS: What We Observed on 1/25/11

Learning Walks at WMS: What We Observed on 1/25/11 Presented to WMS Faculty2/7/11

Creating a Layered Book Foldablefor Taking Notes 1. Place the Non-linguistic Representations sheet on

the bottom of the stack of papers. Write your name on the Name line.

2. Place the Scaffolding sheet on top of the Non-linguistic Representations sheet about 1” above the bottom so you can read Non-linguistic Representations.

3. Place the What is the data saying? sheet on top of the Scaffolding sheet about 1” above the bottom so you can read Scaffolding.

4. Holding all three sheets in that order, fold the top backwards in half so that the bottoms line up.

WMS Learning Walks on 1/25/11•3 teams with 3 educators on two teams and

2 educators on one team•All members of the School-wide Data Team•40 classrooms visited•Each visit was approximately 15 minutes

long •Each team had a copy of:

▫updated GLEs for the content areas and grade levels that they were visiting

▫Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy▫Effective Teaching Strategies at a Glance

WMS Learning Walks on 1/25/11 – Who Was Visited•Content Areas

▫Reading/LA - 11 classrooms▫Math - 8 classrooms▫Science – 9 classrooms ▫Social Studies – 4 classrooms ▫Tier II Reading - 1 classroom▫Advanced Math – 3 classrooms ▫Computers – 1 classroom ▫Library Skills – 1 classroom▫Life Skills – 1 classroom▫Spanish – 1 classroom

WMS Learning Walks on 1/25/11 – Who Was Visited•Grade Levels

▫Grade 5 – 9 classrooms▫Grade 6 – 10 classrooms▫Grade 7 – 11 classrooms▫Grade 8 – 9 classrooms▫Grade 7/8 – 1 classroom

The Good News – What we observed•High teacher & student enthusiasm•Students engaged in learning •Classroom environments comfortable &

safe•Effective classroom management•Increase in the number of staff separating

the content and language objectives•Increase in higher levels of Bloom (Apply,

Evaluate, Create)

Content ObjectivesWhat We Observed•Clearly Written – 28 classrooms = 70%•In Student Friendly Language – 30

classrooms = 75%

Language ObjectivesWhat We Observed•Clearly Written – 23 classrooms = 58%•In Student Friendly Language – 24

classrooms = 60%

Separate Content and Language Objectives• Observed in 28 classrooms = 70% • Research shows that “In model sheltered

instruction courses, language and content objectives are systematically woven into the curriculum… Teachers must develop the students' academic language proficiency consistently and regularly.” (http://www.siopinstitute.net/index.html)

• This means that it is critical to separate the Content and Language Objectives, especially to support the language development of English Language Learners.

To increase the likelihood of learning:

• Set separate content and language objectives • Set only 1 or at most 2 of each kind of objective• Word them as student outcomes rather than

student activities• Use Bloom’s Taxonomy for active, higher order

thinking verbs• Post them together in large enough print so they

can be seen from anywhere in the classroom• Tell students what the objectives are • Reinforce what the objectives are by referring to

them throughout the lesson

Students Are Able to State What They Are Learning•182 students were asked what they

were learning today, 153 were able to state what they were learning = 84%

•Research shows that “When students know what they are learning, their performance, on average, has been shown to be significantly higher than students who do not know what they are learning.” (http://www.marzanoresearch.com)

Bloom’s Revised TaxonomyTotal N of classrooms visited = 40•Remember – Observed in 35 classrooms =

88%•Understand – Observed in 35 classrooms =

88%•Apply – Observed in 30 classrooms = 75%•Analyze – Observed in 15 classrooms = 38%•Evaluate – Observed in 7 classrooms = 18%•Create – Observed in 4 classrooms = 10%

What Does That Look Like in Wordle?

Let’s raise the level of thinking and reverse the weight of these words.

What Kind of Engagement Did We See?Total N of classrooms visited = 40•High Engagement – 27 classrooms =

67.5%•Medium Engagement - 4 classrooms =

10%•Low Engagement - 9 classrooms = 22.5%

Embedded Instruction:What We Observed

•Vocabulary Development Embedded – 29 classrooms = 73%

•Non-Fiction Writing – 16 classrooms = 40%•Differentiated Instruction – 5 classrooms =

13%

Effective Teaching Strategies from Marzano, et alDistrict-wide Strategies•Setting Objectives/Providing Feedback -

25 classrooms = 63%•Similarities/Differences – 8 classrooms =

20%•Reinforcing Effort/Providing Recognition –

19 classrooms = 48%

Effective Teaching Strategies from Marzano, et al•Cooperative Learning - 10 classrooms = 25%•Cues, Questions and Advanced Organizers -

21 classrooms = 53%•Generating and Testing Hypotheses - 8

classrooms = 20%•Homework and Practice - 21 classrooms =

53%•Non-linguistic Representations - 10

classrooms = 25%•Summarizing and Notetaking - 14

classrooms = 35%

Effective Instructional Strategies•Scaffolding (e.g., Prompting, Questioning,

Paraphrasing, Think-alouds, etc.) - 28 classrooms = 70%

•Effective classroom management - 35 classrooms = 88%

Technology UsageTechnology usage was defined as using 21st

Century technology, e.g., laptops, data projectors or TVs hooked to computers, SMART Boards, MY Access, Web 2.0 tools, etc.

• Students Using Tech - 6 classrooms = 15%• Teachers Using Tech - 13 classrooms = 33%• Neither Students Nor Teachers Using Tech -

23 classrooms = 58%NOTE: Some teachers were observed using

overhead projectors effectively; however, those are 20th Century tools and are not included in this data.

Student Work Displayed

•Current – 16 classrooms = 40%•Meaningful & Linked to Standards – 17

classrooms = 43%•Matched to Linguistic Proficiency - 8

classrooms = 20%•Data Walls - 15 classrooms = 38%

Data Analysis Comparison

•The comparison of the first and second Learning Walks reveal a decrease in the following strategies:▫ High level of student engagement▫ Vocabulary development▫ Differentiated instruction▫ Non-linguistic representations▫ Scaffolding▫ Current and meaningful student work

being displayed

Data Analysis – Areas of Focus

• Scaffolding• Non-linguistic representations

Scaffolding

• Based on Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)▫ The ZPD is the difference between what a child can

accomplish alone and what he or she can accomplish with the assistance of a more experienced individual (Echevarría, Vogt, and Short, 2008).

• Providing substantial amounts of support and assistance in the earliest stages of teaching a new concept or strategy, and then gradually decreasing the amount of support as the learners acquire experience through multiple practice opportunities

Verbal Scaffolding Techniques

• Includes using prompting, questioning, and elaboration to facilitate students’ movement to higher levels of language proficiency, comprehension, and thinking.

• Includes paraphrasing, think alouds, slowing speech, speaking in phrases, repeating student responses to correct pronunciation and inflection, and reinforcing contextual definitions.

Procedural Scaffolding Techniques

• Includes explicitly teaching content, modeling, opportunities for practice, and allowing for independent application. For example:▫One on one teaching, coaching and modeling.▫Small group instruction and/or partnering students so

as to allow them to practice newly learned strategies with more experienced students.

Instructional Scaffolding Techniques• Methods and materials

that can be utilized in lessons to facilitate understanding of the content and language objectives.

• For example, graphic organizers can be used in a lesson as a pre-reading tool to prepare students for the content of a textbook chapter. It could also be used to illustrate a chapter’s text structure.

analyzing

categorizing

comparing/contrasting

evaluating

investigating

listing

recalling

Nonlinguistic Representation is an aspect of information processing that uses the imagery mode, expressed as mental pictures or even physical sensations, such as smell, taste, touch, kinesthetic association, and sound (Richardson, 1983)

What is Nonlinguistic Representation?

Classroom Instruction That Works, Marzano, et al, 2001, p. 73

Research on Learners

•32% are visual learners•18% are auditory learners•25% are tactile learners•25% are kinesthetic learners

This means that 50% of people are nonlinguistic learners

When using Nonlinguistic Representation, the research showed that the range of percentile gain was 19 to 40 percentile points.

What Does the Research Say?

•A variety of activities produce nonlinguistic representations.▫Creating graphic representations▫Making physical models▫Generating mental pictures▫Drawing pictures and pictographs▫Engaging in kinesthetic activity

• Nonlinguistic representations should elaborate on knowledge.

Using Nonlinguistic Representations

Classroom Instruction That Works, Marzano, et al, 2001, p. 73-74

Effect

C1

C2

C3

C4

C5

Cause/Effect Diagram

Classroom Practice in Nonlinguistic Representation - Graphic Organizers

CONCEPT

Principle

Example Example

Example

Characteristic

Characteristic

Example

ExampleExample

Example

ExampleExample

Example

Characteristic Characteristic

CONCEPT

Web

Concept Map

Time/Sequence Diagram

Generalization/Principle Patterns Diagram

Make Physical Models

Concrete representation of the knowledge that is being learned

Souvenirs/tokens 3D models – dioramas Foldables

Draw Pictures and Pictographs

Symbolic pictures that represent the knowledge that has been learned

Flip books Illustrate vocabulary

Engage in Kinesthetic Activity

Physical movement associated with knowledge generates a mental image of the knowledge in the mind

Using manipulatives Role playing/charades Elkonin boxes (an instructional method

used to build phonological awareness by segmenting words into syllables)

Hand/body movements