Reading (and Writing) the Future

Supporting Teachers to

Lift Lives

The Power of Reading “I lived in Master Hugh's family about seven years. During this time, I succeeded in learning to read and write. In accomplishing this, I was compelled to resort to various stratagems. I was most narrowly watched. If I was in a separate room any considerable length of time, I was sure to be suspected of having a book, and was at once called to give an account of myself. All this, however, was too late. The first step had been taken. Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the ~inch,~ and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ~ell.~” -- The Autobiography of

Frederick Douglass

The Path of Learning: Metaphors from the Trenches

n  He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree. n  John and Mary had never met. They were like two

hummingbirds who had also never met. n  She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing

legs. n  He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was

the East River. n  Even in his last years, Grandpappy had a mind like a steel

trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut. n  He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck,

either, but a real duck that was actually lame. n  She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was

room-temperature Canadian beef. n  The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike

Phil, this plan just might work. n  Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

Challenges of 21st Century Teaching

• Greater Need for Education in Society

• Higher Standards for Learning •  More Diverse Students with Greater Educational Needs • Greater Expectations of Schools for Ensuring Success

A Changing Economy Makes Education More Important

1900 1950 20000%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Low skill jobs Knowledge work jobs

The Consequences of Under-Education

n  A new high school dropout in 2010 had less than a 50% chance of getting a job

n  That job earned less than ½ of what the same job earned 20 years ago

n  Lack of education is ever more strongly correlated with incarceration

n  Corrections costs have increased by 900% and now compete with education and social service expenditures in many states

n  Most inmates are high school dropouts and functionally illiterate

US Outcomes in International Perspective

Reading Korea Finland Singapore Canada New Zealand Japan Australia

US is #14

Mathematics Singapore Korea Finland Lichtenstein Switzerland Japan Canada

US is #27

Science Finland Singapore Japan Korea New Zealand Canada Estonia

US is #21

U.S. PISA Results by School Poverty: Literacy

0-10% 10-25%

25-50% Average 50-75%

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Poverty Rates of PISA Participants

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

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What Kind of Policies will Help?

No Child Left Behind: Noble Goals and Unintended Effects

n Goal to focus on all groups of students n Demand for higher achievement, but

incentives for -- Excluding low-scoring students

-- Chasing teachers from high-need schools -- Narrowing curriculum

n Demand for “highly qualified teachers,” but incentives for reducing preparation

Side Effects of High-Stakes Multiple-Choice Testing

“I have seen more students who can pass [the test] but cannot apply those skills to anything if it’s not in the test format. I have students who can do the test but can’t look up words in a dictionary and understand the different meanings…. As for higher quality teaching, I’m not sure I would call it that. Because of the pressure for passing scores, more and more time is spent practicing the test and putting everything in the test format” -- A Texas teacher

What are the Highest-Achieving Nations Doing?

n Universal health care, housing, preschool for children

n Equitable & adequate resources for schools n Equitable access to a thinking curriculum

supported by rich performance assessments n Substantial investments in initial teacher

education and ongoing support n A well-paid and well-supported profession n Schools designed to support teacher and

student learning

What are these Nations Not Doing?

n Cutting funds to schools n Privatizing education n Ranking and labeling schools and

teachers n Allocating rewards or sanctions

based on test scores n De-professionalizing teaching

Two Theories of Reform Compete Around the World

n Bureaucratic Accountability -- Control of Teaching -- Standardization of Practice -- “Doing Things Right”

n Professional Accountability -- Development of Expert Practice -- Individualization of Learning -- “Doing the Right Things”

The Critical Importance of Teacher Knowledge & Skills

“What the evidence suggests most strongly is that teacher quality matters and should be a major focus of efforts to upgrade the quality of schooling. Skilled teachers are the most critical of all schooling inputs.”

- Ronald Ferguson “Paying for Public Education: New Evidence on How and Why Money Matters.” Harvard Journal of Legislation, 28 (Summer 1991), pp. 465-498.

What Do Effective and Equitable Teachers Know and Do?

Effective Teachers… n  Engage students in active learning n  Create intellectually ambitious tasks n  Use a variety of teaching strategies n  Assess student learning continuously and adapt teaching to student needs n  Create effective scaffolds and supports n  Provide clear standards, constant feedback, and

opportunities for revising work n  Develop and effectively manage a collaborative

classroom in which all students have membership.

Equitable Teachers …

n  Learn to see, hear, and understand the child n  Find out about children’s strengths, experiences,

and prior knowledge n  Have many tools for scaffolding understanding n  Continually develop culturally responsive practices n  Reinforce students’

competence and confidence

n  Reach out to children and families

Facing New Challenges

n  Evolution of Learning n  Professionalization of Teaching

How the demand for skills has changed Economy-wide measures of routine and non-routine task input (U.S.)

40

45

50

55

60

65

1960 1970 1980 1990 2002

Routine manual Nonroutine manual Routine cognitive Nonroutine analytic Nonroutine interactive

Non-routine interactive

Non-routine analytic

Routine manual

Routine cognitive

Non-routine manual

(Levy and Murnane) Mea

n ta

sk in

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The dilemma of schools: The skills that are easiest to teach and test are also the ones that are easiest to digitize, automate, and outsource

Teamwork  

Problem  Solving  

Interpersonal  Skills  

Computa8onal  Skills    

Reading  Skills  

Organiza8onal  Effec8veness  

Goal  SeAng/Mo8va8on  

Listening  Skills  

Personal  Career  Development  

Crea8ve  Thinking  

Leadership  

Oral  Communica8ons  

Wri8ng  Wri8ng   1  

2  

3  

4  

5  

6  

7  

8  

9  

10  

11  

12  

13  

Teamwork  

Problem  Solving  

Interpersonal  Skills  

Computa8onal  Skills    

Reading  Skills  

Organiza8onal  Effec8veness  

Goal  SeAng/Mo8va8on  

Listening  Skills  

Personal  Career  Development  

Crea8ve  Thinking  

Leadership  

Oral  Communica8ons  

1970   1999  

FORTUNE 500 MOST VALUED SKILLS

Common Core Standards-Reading

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

CST ELA Item Testing Standard 9RC2.8

CCSS- Writing n Produce clear and coherent writing in which the

development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

n Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

Common Core Standards – Research and Presentation

n  Conduct short and sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

n  Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose and audience.

Common Core Standards – Technology Use

n Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

n Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

Research Task: Nuclear Power You are chief-of-staff for your local congresswoman in the U.S. House of Representatives. She has called you into her office to outline an urgent project.

“I have received advance warning,” she says as you sit down, “that a power company is proposing to build a nuclear plant in the southeastern corner of our state. The plan will be announced to the public tomorrow morning, and citizens and journalists will want to know what my position is on this controversial issue. To be honest, I am not sure how I feel about it. We currently don’t have any nuclear power plants in this state, so I haven’t taken time to consider the issue deeply.

“I need you,” she continues, “to conduct a brief survey of the pros and cons of nuclear power. Summarize what you have learned and report back to me this afternoon.”

Back in your office, you enter “nuclear power pros and cons” into a Google search engine, and it returns what looks like a promising mix of articles, videos, and data charts. You must review and evaluate these sources and summarize their arguments—both pro and con—before reporting back to the congresswoman.

Organize Arguments n  From the sources you have reviewed, summarize 3 major

arguments that support, and 3 major arguments that oppose, the use of nuclear power for generating electricity. For each of the arguments, cite at least one source that supports this fact or point of view.

Argument / Fact in Favor of Nuclear Power

Source Supporting this Argument

1. 2. 3. Argument / Fact in Opposition to Nuclear Power

Source Supporting This Argument

1. 2. 3.

Evaluate Sources n Evaluate the credibility of the arguments and

evidence presented by these sources. Which of the sources are more trustworthy and why? Which of the sources warrant some skepticism because of bias or insufficient evidence?

Write and Revise an Evidence-Based Essay

Back in the congresswoman’s office, you start to hand her your notes on the pros and cons of nuclear energy, but she waves away your papers.

“Some emergency meetings have come up and I don’t have time to review your research notes,” she says. “Instead, go ahead and make a recommendation for our position on this nuclear power plant. Should we support the building of this nuclear plant in our state, or should we oppose the power company’s plan? Be sure that your recommendation acknowledges both sides of the issue so that people know that we have considered the issue carefully. I’ll review your memo tonight and use it for the press conference tomorrow morning.”

Write an argumentative essay that recommends the position that your congresswoman should take on the plan to build a nuclear power plant in your state. Support your claim with evidence from the Internet sources you have read and viewed. You do not need to use all the sources, only the ones that most effectively and credibly support your position and your consideration of the opposing point of view.

Getting to the Right Set of Reforms

(1) Equitable and adequate resources; (2) Strong professional standards and supports; (3) Meaningful learning goals (4) Intelligent, reciprocal accountability systems; and (5) Schools designed for

empowering forms of student and teacher learning

21st Century Learning for All

“What the best and wisest parent wants for his or her child, that must the community want for all of its children. Any other goal is narrow and unlovely. Acted upon, it destroys our democracy.” -- John Dewey

Tackling the Agenda that Matters Most

"On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?'

Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' And Vanity comes along and asks the question,

'Is it popular?' But Conscience asks the question 'Is it right?'

And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it

because Conscience tells him it is right." -- Martin Luther King, 1968