Supporting LASS High Schools

Session # 7LEADERSHIP &

SUSTAINABILITYLakeshore Alliance for Student Success, Inc.

Edward Schoenfelt, Executive Director56 S. Washington Street, Ste. 302Valparaiso, IN 46383-5565

Thursday, April 29, 2010 9:00 a.m. CST

LEADERSHIP & GOVERANCE

Required to exercise leadership & approaches to governance that:

As the leader you have the knowledge, time, interpersonal skills to work with teachers to define power standards and instructional goals and demonstrate teaching strategies

Do you promote distributed leadership, encourage multiple roles for teacher leaders and tackling organizational change where necessary

Have do you incorporated alternative structures to address management, discipline, and functions of running the high school

Will you shift the focus to support comprehensive HS improvement centered on strengthening the instructional core

Enact policy, codify a vision, a mission, and/or strategic plans for scaled-up and sustainability

Have you refined your strategies and skills to lead and support organizational change

Understand decision making authority at all levels and recognize the expectations, requirements, compensation, and recognitions of faculty and staff

Rigorous Curriculum & Instruction

All are responsible that your students have access to rigorous content & instruction that:

Align to local state and national standards that look towards DOK, skills, and abilities needed for students to thrive in this global model

Use research based inst strategies ie scaffolding, DI, and double dosing for all students

As the leader you have the knowledge, time, interpersonal skills to work with teachers to define power standards and instructional goals and demonstrate teaching strategies

Teacher LEADERSHIP What Instruction is being used at school?

What tools and strategies do teachers use to ensure they are delivering quality instruction?

How are we helping each student achieve to his of her potential?

How do we encourage student to get to know us and we get to know them?

What are our goals and how do we monitor them?

How do we define, evaluate, encourage, and talk about good teaching?

Allow time to collaborate with fellow teachers

Continuous Improvement Team Driven by an agenda at each meeting Report actions taken in meeting Share data (What does the data mean?) Build relationships by sharing

accomplishments and failures Admit mistakes Drive the plan w/ supportive riders Innovative Education

Stay on message

LEADERSHIP

Content Literacy in the High School

Some Background on the Problem

Why do we need to pay attention to literacy in the content areas? The most recentNational Assessment of Educational Progress Reading Report Card (Donahue et al.,2003) shows, for example, that while general test scores have improved over the last several years, very few young people in the United States read at proficientor advanced levels. While most can decode and answer basic comprehensionquestions, few can synthesize ideas, interpret information, or critique ideas offeredIn texts, particularly when working with expository texts. What’s more, being literatein a content area has implications that extend beyond the ability to make meaningfrom or about a content-area text. Advanced or specialized forms of literacy serveas tools for and signifiers of both school and social success, and thus can beconsidered important tools for gaining or denying access to opportunities for economic, political, and social success beyond school.

Each of these points underscores the need for a focus on literacy learning beyond theprimary grades and beyond the discipline of English language arts. Content area textsMake unique demands on readers, and the best people to teach how to read and write Content area texts are those who are expert in the disciplines themselves. The exhortation to integrate literacy instruction into the various content areas of the secondary schools (HS) is not new. Since the early 1900s, educational practitioners, researchers, and policy makers have grappled with questions about the role of instruction in reading and writing in the secondary school (HS). Although more Recently researchers have turned to questions about the role that literacy plays in the in and out-of-school lives of adolescents, questions about Integrating literacy instruction into the secondary content areas have not been forgotten. Indeed, recent state and federal policy initiatives suggest renewed attention to the school-based literacy skills of youth, making questions about the integration of literacy intothe content areas of the secondary school more salient now than ever before.

Integrating Literacy E. B. Moje 2006

Questions about the struggle to integrate the teaching and learning ofliteracy into the content areas of the secondary school (HS) beg thequestion what it means to talk about literacy. Does literacy simply refer tothe cognitive processes of decoding, comprehending, encoding, andcomposing informational print texts? Or is literacy something morecomplex? In particular, what does it mean to engage in literate practice incontent areas or disciplines? A re-conceptualized view of content-arealiteracy suggests that a person who has learned deeply in a content areacan use a variety of representational forms—most notably reading andwriting of written texts, but also oral language, visual images, music, andart

to communicate their learning, to synthesize ideas across texts and across groups ofpeople, to express new ideas, and to question and challenge ideas held dear in thecontent areas and in broader spheres. With these arguments for the value ofintegrating literacy into the secondary content areas, it seems odd that secondaryschools and teacher education programs have not been more successful in developing integrated secondary literacy programs. A small, but stable, research basein content literacy exists; teachers and administrators are aware of the need to dosomething different in secondary school classrooms; and teacher educators aregenerally committed to teacher education around content literacy.

Why, then, the failure to integrate literacy teaching into the content areas in anywidespread or sustained fashion?

Inform Decisions Through - Data Systems

PICK ONE THING!!!

This presentation will focus on

high school writing!

SAMPLE QUESTIONS:

1. Life of Henry V: Act IV, Scene III, Open Response question

Explain how the excerpt shows that the king is an effective

leader. Use relevant and specific information from the excerpt

to support your answer. (The question is looking for language and

style analysis, not simply content).

2. Excerpt from Don Quixote, Open Response question

Explain how the author creates a humorous tone in the excerpt.

Use relevant and specific information from the excerpt to

support your answer. (The question is looking for language

analysis, not simply content).

Communicating the Focus:Interdisciplinary discussion groups reviewing our drafts:

In each of the four areas of Reading, Writing,Speaking and Reasoning, have we included whatis required for students to be successful in your class/your content area?

Is the skill stated clearly so that all teachers andstudents can understand it?

Is the skill applicable to ALL content areas?

A High School Approach

CONTENT FORM

8 Response contains a clear thesis and insightfully answers all parts of the question.Response provides relevant and specific textual evidence.Explanations of evidence are clear and accurate, and demonstrate superior understanding of the material.

4Response contains sophisticated and effective use of transitions and strategic repetition indicating complete control of the material.Response is logically and effectively organized in its thesis, paragraphing, and sequencing of examples.Response contains clear sentence structure with few or no errors.

6Response contains a clear thesis and adequately answers all parts of the question.Response provides relevant but general textual evidence.Explanations of evidence are mostly clear and accurate, and demonstrate good understanding of the material.

3Response contains adequate but simplistic use of transitions and strategic repetition.Response is organized in its thesis, paragraphing, and sequencing of examples.Response contains clear sentence structure with no distracting errors.

LEGIBILITY

1Easy to read

0Difficult to read

4Response contains a thesis but only partially answers the question.Response provides a mix of accurate and inaccurate textual evidence.Explanations of evidence are vague and/or demonstrate limited understanding of the material.

2Response contains some inappropriate use of transitions and strategic repetition.Response demonstrates lapses in the organization of its thesis, paragraphing, and/or sequencing of examples.Response contains lapses in sentence structure that interfere with the clarity of thought.

2Response contains a thesis but only minimally answers the question.Response provides insufficient and/or largely inaccurate textual evidence.Explanations of evidence are unclear and/or demonstrate minimal understanding of the material.

1Response contains incorrect or inadequate use of transitions and strategic repetition.Response reflects minimal organization of its thesis, paragraphing, and/or sequencing of examples.Response contains major errors in sentence structure.

LENGTH

1Sufficient

0Insufficient

0Response is incorrect.Response contains insufficient evidence to show understanding of the material.Response is off-topic and/or contains irrelevant content.

0Response contains no evidence of transitions and strategic repetition.Response reflects no organization.Response contains little to no evidence of sentence structure.

Evaluated by: Self Peer Teacher (Circle One) SCORING 13-14 = Advanced11-12 = Proficient 8-10 = Needs Improvement 0-7 = Failing

For our HS: What gets monitored is what gets done!!!

• Collection and review of student work

• Structured portfolios for all students with IEPs and for all second language learners

Improving Student Academic Achievement:Addressing needs of special populations: 9TH Grade

STUDY SKILLS LESSONS FOLLOWING LITERACY OBJECTIVES

Reading: Active reading strategies - Previewing a text – Using visuals to preview a chapter

Writing: Note-taking – Summarizing (formal language vs. text)

Speaking: Street talk vs. school talk – speaking in complete sentences – Listening

Reasoning: Time management, Organizational strategies, Study strategies

The Cornell Note-Taking System

Forty years ago, Walter Pauk (1989) developed what is known as the Cornell note taking technique to help Cornell University students better organize their notes. Today, Pauk's note taking technique is probably the most widely used system throughout the United States. Pauk outlines six steps in the Cornell note taking system:

1 Record Simply record as many facts and ideas as you can in the six-inch column. Do not be concerned with getting every word down that the lecturer says or with writing your notes grammatically correctly. Learn to write telegraphic sentences or a streamlined version of the main points of the lecture by leaving out unnecessary words and using only key words. To ensure that your notes make sense weeks later, after the lecture is over, fill in blanks or make incomplete sentences complete.

2 Reduce (or question) After you read through your notes, your next step is to reduce important facts and ideas to key words or phrases, or to formulate questions based on the facts and ideas. Key words, phrases, and questions are written in the narrow column left of the six-inch column. The words and phrases act as memory cues so that when you review them, you will recall the ideas or facts. The questions help to clarify the meanings of the facts and ideas.

3 Recite Recitation is a very powerful process in the retention of information. Reciting is different from rereading in that you state out loud and in your own words the facts and ideas you are trying to learn. It is an effective way to learn because hearing your thoughts helps you to sharpen your thinking process; and stating ideas and facts in your own words challenges you to think about the meaning of the information. When reciting, cover up your notes in the six-inch column, while leaving the cue words and questions uncovered and readily accessible. Next, read each key word or question, then recite and state aloud, in your own words, the information. If your answer is correct, continue on through the lecture by reciting aloud.

4 Reflect Reflection is pondering or thinking about the information you have learned. Reflecting is a step beyond learning note content. It reinforces deeper learning by the relating of facts and ideas to other learning and knowledge. Questions like the following enhance reflecting: How do these facts and ideas fit into what I already know? How can I apply them? How is knowing this important? What is the significance of these facts and ideas?

5 Review The way to prevent forgetting is to review and recite your notes frequently. A good guideline to follow is to review your notes nightly or several times during the week by reciting, not rereading. Brief review sessions planned throughout the semester, perhaps weekly, will aid more complete comprehension and retention of information than will cramming the day before a test. It will cut on stress too!

6 Recapitulate The recapitulation or summary of your notes goes at the bottom of the note page in the two-inch block column. Taking a few minutes after you have reduced, recited, and reflected to summarize the facts and ideas in your notes will help you integrate your information. The summary should not be a word-for-word rewriting of your notes. It should be in your own words and reflect the main points you want to remember from your notes. Reading through your summary(ies) in preparation for an exam is a good way to review.

There are three ways to go about summarizing: Summarize each page of notes at the bottom of each page. Summarize the whole lecture on the last page. Do both 1 and 2, in combination

.

A note student page example

2 Reduce or Question (After Lecture)

Write key words, phrases or questions that serve as cues for notes taken in classcue phrases and questions should be in your own words

3 Recite

With classroom notes covered, read each key word or question recite the fact or idea brought to mind by key word or question

1 Record (During Lecture) write down facts and ideas in phrasesuse abbreviations when possible(After Lecture) read through your notes

4 & 5 Fill in blanks and make scribbles more legible

4 &  5.  Reflect and Review review your notes periodically by recitingthink about what you have learned

6 Recapitulation (After Lecture) summarize each main idea use complete sentences    

References

Moje, E. B., Peek-Brown, D., Sutherland, L. M., Marx, R. W., Blumenfeld, P., & Krajcik, J. (2004b). Explaining explanations: Developing scientific literacy in middle-school project-based science reforms. In D.Strickland & D. E. Alvermann (Eds.) Bridging the gap: Improving literacy learning for preadolescent and adolescent learners in grades 4-12 (pp. 227-251). New York: Carnegie Corporation.

Donahue, P., Daane, M., & Grigg, W. (2003). The nation’s report card: Reading highlights 2003 (No. NCES 2004452). Washington DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

Dr. Susan E. Szachowicz, Principal, Brockton High School, 470 Forest Avenue,

Brockton, MA 02301, 508-580-7633, susanszachowicz@bpsma.org

The Cornell System, which was designed by Walter Pauk, emeritus, at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853

Mr. Edward Schoenfelt, Executive Director, LASS, Inc. Valparaiso, IN 46383-5565 www.mvsc.k12.in.us/lass schoenfelteddeb@yahoo.com