Welcome to the Teacher Leadership Series!
We encourage you to read and post.
On April 6, 2009, over sixty teachers, administrators, and other education professionals came together at
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:
- Define authentic learning (project-based learning vs. connections to real world)
- Create time to develop structures, plan, and have meetings
- Develop common language, protocols, and expectations around authentic learning
- Build up the culture of trust and sharing among staff
- Make time for teachers to collaborate with one another
- Provide support through mentoring and gathering resources
- Create a clear, strategic system for demonstrating skill mastery through authentic learning
- Use skill-based learning (start the planning process with lists of essential skills)
- Align curriculum to ensure themes and topics are not repeated year to year, but build on one another throughout the grades
- Be flexible with content standards (especially in high school) so classes can go in depth on specific topics
GETTING STARTED:
- Start small
- Build up something you are already doing
- See what is out there and borrow
- Share ideas with other teachers and schools
PLANNING:
- Develop outcomes based on standards first; then plan lessons and activities
- Plan cross-curricular units and projects
- Find out what professionals do in particular fields and then plan what your students could do that is authentic and also addresses a standard
- Start a unit or project with an authentic experience and then refer to the experience throughout the unit
- Plan field trips where students can apply strategies in real-life contexts
- Partner with outside organizations
- Nurture skills that are not necessarily on the test like craftsmanship, problem-solving, and other higher-order thinking skills
ASSESSMENT:
- Create multiple opportunities for students to show learning
- Give students a role in self-assessment in addition to teacher assessments
- Look at student work and respond to student misconceptions
- Use data to see growth and identify needs
- Regularly monitor data; assess and re-assess the students
- Use Excel or another effective program for working with data
- Give students ownership of the data; involve them in the process
Additional Resources:
Coalition of Essential Schools
Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe
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