AUTHENTIC LEARNING IN THE AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Welcome to the Teacher Leadership Series!

The blog captures highlights from the latest Teacher Leadership Series event and allows participants to add their ideas and ask each other questions.

We encourage you to read and post.

On April 6, 2009, over sixty teachers, administrators, and other education professionals came together at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School to address the question:

How can schools balance data-driven strategies necessary for standards accountability with meaningful, authentic learning experiences that engage student interest?

Information and discussion highlights are grouped in categories below. We encourage you to read the highlights and add ideas of your own.

THE PANEL

Kim Worthy - D.C. Teacher of the Year, Curriculum Development Chair & Social Studies Teacher at Howard University Middle School of Math & Science

"The effort begins with the school’s curriculum, and the process involves a lot of research, time, and team cooperation. Authentic learning begins with a backward mapping curriculum model. Where do you want your students to be? What do you want them to learn? Once you know that, you can think of the culminating project where the students are going to apply the skills and content you taught."

Ellie Zartman - Website Coordinator & Former Technology Education Coordinator at The Lab School of Washington

"We use backwards design at The Lab School, and we teach through the arts—everything is creative and artistic. I have found that storytelling is a very effective way to incorporate authentic experiences. Everybody loves a story. I know I have engaged my students because when they get their imaginations going, all their hands are up. We do stories and projects for a purpose; nothing is done in a vacuum."

Franklin Wassmer – Strategic Intervention Program Coordinator at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School

“At Elsie Whitlow Stokes we believe that everything around us is data and that data accountability is not opposed to authentic learning. We must understand the relationship between them. Our staff collects and examines information about students from parents and previous year’s teachers, so the teacher can see what they are seeing in the classroom in the context of everything else."

Kate Franz – Literacy Coordinator at E. L. Haynes Public Charter School

From a literacy point of view, I think we should define authenticity as how a classroom activity translates to real life. Teachers should ask, “Is this what a real-life reader or real-life writer would do?” Students become engaged in real-life reading and writing experiences. As teachers, we have to know ourselves really well as readers and writers in order to communicate to students that there is a translation."

Maya Garcia – 8th Grade Science Teacher at Hardy Middle School

"My school has a strong professional learning community; we evaluate data together and trade units. I also do a lot of reflecting during planning. I go through a checklist, "Is the lesson hands-on? Are we constructing knowledge? Is there a demo? An exit ticket?" I work hard to develop community partnerships so my students can see real scientists in action. I also try to make sure that what I have my students do is real—-something they will buy in to."

WHAT ARE STRATEGIES AND ROUTINES YOU USE TO GET HARD DATA ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE?

Kim Worthy: "At my school we use NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association) assessments. They are computerized so we get instant feedback, and the program produces an individualized report for each student telling us the standards they should know and where they fell short. It is helpful because we review it with parents and discuss where the children are. We then work out a plan to help each student get to where they need to be. We also have BrainChild, which produces activities for each standard that a child is deficient in."

Franklin Wassmer: "For math we use the Everyday Math assessments. We look at the students’ performance and then decide what we need to do to support each student. We look at what the teachers are presenting and how students respond to it. We look at how that process works and document it so we can reflect and improve."

Kate Franz: "We have developed re-teach action plans that teachers create after looking at data from the various tests we use. One thing we are piloting this year is re-teaching standards in a shared reading setting. The class reads the same text together for three days. On the first day the teacher reads the text and models the specific strategy. The next day the class reads the text and practices the strategy by answering questions like you would see on a standardized test. On the third day students are given an exit ticket so teachers have something concrete to check for understanding."

Maya Garcia: "With the DC BAS we are able to assess where they stand with immediate feedback. There is no diagnostic for science, but I integrate the reading and math skills into my labs and try to make sure the learning is meaningful."

HOW DO YOU GET TEACHERS EXCITED ABOUT DOING AUTHENTIC LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN THEIR CLASSROOMS?

Ellie Zartman: "As we all know, teachers are totally busy. We need time and support from administrators. We need perks like this free dinner tonight or being paid to go to workshops and learn new skills. There are ways to start small—like National History Day. You choose an individual from history and do a three- or four-month project. All the activities are linked to standards."

Franklin Wassmer: "People buy into success and want to do something that they see is working. We need to capture what the successful teachers are doing and document it so others can see. It needs to be something that is exciting and looks really good so you can sell the process."

Maya Garcia: "The best way is to establish an effective professional learning community. If it is working well these units and projects do not feel like so much work; it’s not just one teacher. You can also pair someone starting out with a colleague who is doing well in this area. I think getting extra training is important as well. What does the assessment look like? Where can you pull in data? What does authentic learning look like when it’s successful? How can you make the students buy in to it?"

STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION

After the panel discussion participants broke up into smaller groups to discuss the panelists comments, address more questions, and brainstorm strategies to take back to schools and classrooms.

SCHOOLWIDE STRATEGIES:

1. Define authentic learning (project-based learning vs. connections to real world)



2. Create time to develop structures, plan, and have meetings
   



3. Develop common language, protocols, and expectations around authentic learning



4. Build up the culture of trust and sharing among staff



5. Make time for teachers to collaborate with one another



6. Provide support through mentoring and gathering resources



7. Create a clear, strategic system for demonstrating skill mastery through authentic learning



8. Use skill-based learning (start the planning process with lists of essential skills)



9. Align curriculum to ensure themes and topics are not repeated year to year, but build on one another throughout the grades



10. Be flexible with content standards (especially in high school) so classes can go in depth on specific topics

GETTING STARTED:

1. Start small



2. Build up something you are already doing



3. See what is out there and borrow



4. Share ideas with other teachers and schools

PLANNING:

1. Develop outcomes based on standards first; then plan lessons and activities



2. Plan cross-curricular units and projects



3. Find out what professionals do in particular fields and then plan what your students could do that is authentic and also addresses a standard
   



4. Start a unit or project with an authentic experience and then refer to the experience throughout the unit
   



5. Plan field trips where students can apply strategies in real-life contexts



6. Partner with outside organizations



7. Nurture skills that are not necessarily on the test like craftsmanship, problem-solving, and other higher-order thinking skills

ASSESSMENT:

1. Create multiple opportunities for students to show learning



2. Give students a role in self-assessment in addition to teacher assessments



3. Look at student work and respond to student misconceptions



4. Use data to see growth and identify needs



5. Regularly monitor data; assess and re-assess the students



6. Use Excel or another effective program for working with data



7. Give students ownership of the data; involve them in the process

Additional Resources:

Expeditionary Learning

Coalition of Essential Schools

Authentic Education

Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe

PERSEVERANCE & PROGRESS: Teaching Cultural Competence

Welcome to the Teacher Leadership Series!

The blog captures highlights from the latest Teacher Leadership Series event and allows participants to add their ideas and ask each other questions.

We encourage you to read and post.

On January 14, 2009, in time for Martin Luther King Day and the inauguration of our nation's first African-American president, over fifty teachers, administrators, and other education professionals came together at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School to address the question:

What does this historic time in the U.S. mean for our students and how can we use it to shape meaningful learning experiences that promote cultural competence?

Information and discussion highlights are grouped in categories below. We encourage you to read the highlights and add ideas of your own.



THE PANEL

Ted Trabue (Moderator) - D.C. State Board of Education Member

"Our nation's history is a constant and expanding definition of 'We the People.' This presidential election shows how far we have come as a culture. No other nation in the world has made this much progress towards embracing diversity."

Keith Leonard - American University Literature Department; Author: Fettered Genius: The African American Bardic Poet from Slavery to Civil Rights

"I urge educators to work toward cultural literacy vs. cultural competence. It is important for students to know the facts and use that knowledge as an on-going process. I'd like it to be more institutional and not something that is just a time that goes away like Black History Month."

Stacie Tate – American University School of Education, Teaching, and Health; Researcher in critical literacy and urban education

"At American University, I teach an education class about culture and I really think it's all about knowing ourselves. If we don't understand who we are, where we come from, and how that plays out, it can become a problem. We have to know ourselves in order to understand others."

Waahida Mbatha – E. L. Haynes PCS 6th Grade Humanities Teacher

"For me, it's more than celebrating diversity here and there. It's something I do in my classroom everyday. As a reading teacher I am purposeful about my author selection. I try to celebrate the whole student--culture and food and language and the conflicts that arise between people."

Casey Fullerton – KIPP DC: KEY Academy Vice Principal

"As a school leader, I think it's important to give teachers time to reflect on these issues. It leads to feeling comfortable in the classroom and helping our students feel the same way. We must incorporate our students' lives in the classroom and foster exposure to things that are different."

Robert Hall – Anacostia Community Museum Associate Director for Education

"From my perspective I see exhibitions as primary sources of information--artifacts, posters, photographs, artwork, videos that all tell a story. I think we all play a part; we are all writing parts of the same book. Most importantly, we need to plug into the students' worlds."

HOW CAN THE ADULTS IN OUR STUDENTS' LIVES PROVIDE THEM WITH EXAMPLES OF ACHIEVEMENT?

Robert Hall: "Go to any adult--the janitor or the deacon at your church--and say 'Tell me about your life.' It is amazing the collections of objects and stories that people have. There is history behind all these things."

Casey Fullerton: "We should look for missed opportunities and push beyond what we're doing. Last year at KIPP DC we had a career day and there could have been so much that could have happened afterward. I could have followed through and built stronger connections between my students and the people who came in."

Waahida Mbatha: "If you look back and think, there was probably one person that really left an impact on you. In my experience that happens through more consistent contact--not a one-time visit. We need to form long-lasting partnerships with adults in the community for our students."

Stacie Tate: "We as teachers are the examples for our students, since they see us all day Monday through Friday. We have to be that example by showing them who we are. Also, this is the first time I have seen students wearing shirts with a president on them. Obama is an academic. He's not in the music or sports industry. Things are changina s far as what our students see as role models."

Keith Leonard: "I like the idea that high-achieving individuals in our students lives don't always have to be the ones who are famous or who have made the most money. Teachers should definitely be seen more as this. Anyone with a happy, self-fulfilled life."

STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION

After the panel discussion participants broke up into smaller groups to discuss the panelists comments, address more questions, and brainstorm strategies to take back to schools and classrooms.



SCHOOLWIDE STRATEGIES:

1. Encourage staff to engage in dialogue about diversity and cultural competence by centering conversations around videos or articles on the subject
2. Evaluate the school curriculum and library for representation of people and stories from a variety of cultures (i.e., make sure scientists, mathematicians and other academic heroes from a variety of races are represented)
3. Bring in speakers and visitors that expose students to possible fields they could enter and who represent the diversity of the students in the school
4. Have celebrations like Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month be shared experiences with investment from the entire school community

GENERAL TEACHING STRATEGIES:

1. Reveal yourself to your students; Do not shy away from sharing your background and personal life
2. Create opportunities for students to have one-on-one interactions with other adults (i.e., establish long-term partnerships with adults in the community who are accessible role models for your students)
3. Promote the identification of both differences and similarities when students are doing cultural studies
4. Have students explain themselves and their thinking as a general rule to promote understanding others’ perspectives
5. Give students a framework for understanding culture
6. Create a year-long calendar with noteworthy dates, achievements and struggles in history
7. Identify and highlight cross-cultural themes and struggles in your instruction
8. Keep a news bulletin board that highlights all types of news stories—not just those that are most often reported
9. Incorporate service learning on a regular basis
10. Pull from a wide variety of literary and musical genre (i.e., poetry, hip-hop, jazz, traditional music)
11. Do research on the values and epistemological styles of the cultures of your students to incorporate instructional strategies that are known to appeal to them (i.e., drums and rhythm, dancing, group discussion)

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES:

1. Take a neighborhood walk to discover the diversity in your school’s neighborhood
2. Have students do a family history project to discover more about their background
3. Have a “Guess Who” bulletin board where a student puts personal information or fun facts about themselves and the class has to guess who it is
4. Have students interview a classmate and write a “Day in the Life” profile of them
5. Do an oral history project where students interview everyday role models within their school, family, or community
6. Match your students with pen pals who are children their age but different from them
7. Have students write stories about their own times of perseverance—no matter how small—to help them understand historical stories of perseverance
8. Have students role-play different perspectives when studying conflicts in history
9. Have students write and/or perform debates between historical figures (i.e., Martin Luther King vs. George Bush)

FINAL DISCUSSION

Celebrating Black History Month:

"The idea of not celebrating Black History Month has come up. It would be great for schools to get to the point where they don't need a month because they are doing it all year long."

"I have never celebrated Black History Month in February because I always found ways to celebrate all my students' cultures throughout the year. I never felt guilty. But in OCtober E. L. Haynes had an amazing celebration for Hispanic Heritage Month and I could see the sense of pride our Latino students had for the entire school taking that day to highlight their culture. It makes me think February celebrations are important in the same way."

"I work in Black History 365 days a year and when I grew up my entire world was black. But I still craved that celebration week, and I advocate for Black History Month today because I like the community aspect--bringing people together."

"I think having Black History Month highlights inadequacies. If we don't know this particular person's story, then who else's stories don't we know? It was validating for me to have my own month. But we need to validate every kid and their culture."

Planning for Cultural Significance:

"One of the most important things we can do as educators is research epistemological styles of different cultures. When you use it in your classrom you see so much success. You see your students rapping and singing--you know it works."

"At DC Prep, we look for cultural significance in our lesson plans. That is one of the elements that should exist in every lesson plan."

"I wonder how we can engage with other educators, as well as with students, about code-switching and its role in education."

Additional Resources:

Lisa Delpit: The Skin That We Speak

Gloria Ladson-Billings: The Dreamkeepers

Sonia Nieto: Affirming Diversity

Enid Lee: Beyond Heroes and Holidays

Norma Gonzalez: I Am My Language

Teaching Tolerance