WASC Focus on Learning Self-Study Training: Part Two 2014 ... · progress data with respect to student performance? Select 2 to 3 critical learner needs based on the data, noting

Accrediting Commission for Schools Western Association of Schools and Colleges

WASC Focus on Learning

Self-Study Training: Part Two

2014 Schools

Accrediting Commission for Schools Western Association of Schools and Colleges

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WASC Accreditation: A Focus on Learning

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Plan of Day

Checking Up

Getting organized

Task 1: Profile

Task 2: Summarizing progress

Task 3: Conclusions and critical learner needs

Moving Forward

Task 4: Focus Groups―Home Groups

Task 5: Revising the comprehensive schoolwide action plan (a brief advance look at Part 3 Training)

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How is the self-study progressing at your school?

What are the areas that you would like to address at this one day workshop?

Reflection

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WASC FOL

Accreditation Cycle of Quality

Focus

on

Learning

Assess

Plan

Implement

Self-Study

Visit

Reassess

Follow-up

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So What? What currently exists?

How effective is it?

What? What is the ideal based upon…?

• Vision, Mission, Schoolwide Learner Outcomes • WASC criteria and indicators • Curricular standards

Now What? What and how will we modify? What should be in the schoolwide action plan?

Focus on Learning Self-Study Process

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One Schoolwide Umbrella Plan

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WASC FOL Accreditation Cycle of Quality (6 years)

Focus on

Student

Learning

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3 Year 4

Year 5

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WASC Self-Study School Report

Pre

face

Chapter 1 Data

Chapter 2 Progress

Chapter 3 Conclusions

Chapter 4 Organization

Chapter 4 Curriculum Instruction Assessment

Chapter 4 Resources

Chapter 5 Action Plan

Appendices

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Plan of Day

Checking Up

Getting organized

Task 1: Profile



Moving Forward



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Will the self-study be ready to be sent 5-6 weeks prior to visit?

Has the maximum time been allotted for home and focus group work—maximizing regular meeting time?

Timeline

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Leadership

Team

Plans & guides

Focus Groups Criteria &

student work

Home Groups Student work

& criteria

Doing the work

Profile

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Your School’s Focus Group Structure

How have you organized your Focus Groups?

If you have small learning communities or PLCs, how are you integrating them into the self-study process?

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Scheduling Focus Group Work in terms of needed Home Group or

Departmental Data Gathering/Discussion

Staggering Focus Group Work

Your School’s Focus Group Schedule

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Plan of Day

Checking Up

Getting organized

Task 1: Profile



Moving Forward



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School Description including school program information/data

Schoolwide learner outcomes

Profile that includes findings with charts, graphs, tables (3 years of data, where possible)

Demographic data

Disaggregated/interpreted student outcome data

Assess 1-2 learner outcomes

Survey summaries, if any

Appendices

FOL, pp. 43-50

Chapter I: Profile (Task 1)

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What are the current learning needs of students?

What are the 2lst century challenges students will face now and in the future?

Schoolwide Learner Outcomes Essential Questions

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Global-minded Citizens who…

• Act with the future in mind

• Embrace diversity and engage responsibly in the world’s problems with compassion, empathy, and tolerance

• Respect and support family and community

• Protect and advocate for local and global environments

Sample: SAS Students will be

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Activity: Identifying Findings (Task 1)

Compare the profile to the WASC Student/Community Profile Guide

Discuss the findings with each other.

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Activity: Review (Task 1)

Are the appropriate data included?

Has the school commented upon all data?

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Self-Check Questions

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Plan of Day

Checking Up

Getting organized

Task 1: Profile



Moving Forward



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• Significant Developments

• Procedures for Action Plan Implementation and Monitoring

• Progress on Action Plan Sections (showing integration of Critical

Areas for Follow-up and any midterm/revisit Recommendations)

• Additional comments on critical areas not in current plan (may be have already been a major focus or a “just do it” )

FOL, pp. 51-52

Task 2: Format ― Chapter II

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Progress on Action Plan Sections

Goal 1: Success School will improve student achievement on writing through interdisciplinary and department planning.

(This addresses Critical Area for Follow-up # 2 on Professional Development: Provide staff development that addresses school-to-career activities, interdisciplinary planning, English Learner’s needs, standards-based instruction, and our critical learning need writing. This Critical Area for Follow-up was also addressed in Goal 4 of the plan.)

Chapter II: Sample Excerpt

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Plan of Day

Checking Up

Getting organized

Task 1: Profile



Moving Forward



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What are the implications of the profile and progress data with respect to student performance?

Select 2 to 3 critical learner needs based on the data, noting the correlated schoolwide learner outcomes.

List important questions that have been raised by the analysis of the student data about the critical learner needs. (Used by home and focus groups.)

FOL, pp. 53-54

Chapter III: Profile and Progress Summary

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Activity: Identifying Findings: YOURS

Chart examples of…

implications

critical learner needs

important questions

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Review…

Task 4: Focus/Home Groups―WASC Criteria

Moving Forward…

Task 4: Focus Groups― Analyzing/synthesizing the school program based on WASC criteria and critical learner needs

Plan of Day: Moving Forward

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WASC Criteria Categories

HOW

ASSESSMENT IS

USED

ORGANIZATION

RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT AND

ALLOCATION

SUPPORT FOR

STUDENT/PERSONAL &

ACADEMIC GROWTH HOW STUDENTS

LEARN

WHAT

STUDENTS

LEARN FOCUS

ON

STUDENT

LEARNING

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Task 4: Analysis of Program ― Chapter IV

Schoolwide Focus Groups

Home Groups

FOL, pp. 55-57

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Schoolwide Focus Groups

What are their characteristics?

What are their responsibilities?

Chapter IV

Process

Home Groups

Focus Groups

Leadership Team

Product

Response to criteria

Evidence

Strengths

Key areas for follow-up

Professional knowledge Data Observations Surveys/interviews Student work Documents

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Critical

Learner

Needs

Criteria Findings Supporting Evidence

Chapter IV: Self-Study Findings

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To what extent do the professional staff…

a) use research based knowledge about teaching and learning; and

b) design and implement a variety of learning experiences that actively engage students at a high level of learning consistent with the school’s purpose and schoolwide learner outcomes?

B2: How Students Learn

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Indicator: Challenging and Varied Instructional Strategies

The teachers strengthen student understanding and achievement of the learning outcomes through the use of a variety of instructional strategies that are selected on the basis of the learning purpose(s) and effectively engage students at a high level of learning. This includes the integration of multimedia and technology as appropriate.

FOL, p. 96

How Students Learn:

Example of Indicator

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How Students Learn:

Example of Prompt

Related Prompt:

Provide a range of examples from examining students working and their work that give insight to the degree to which all students are actively engaged in learning to achieve the academic standards and the schoolwide learner outcomes. This includes students demonstrating critical thinking, problem solving, knowledge and application. And the development of a wide range of technological skills. Findings Supporting Evidence

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Planning processes for implementing a variety of learning experiences ― teacher knowledge.

Demonstration that students are actively engaged in learning.

Student use of resources for learning beyond the textbook such as technology, community resources.

Student portfolios, performances, projects, discussions, collaborative activities.

Perceptions of students about the learning experiences.

How Students Learn:

Examples of areas to analyze

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Task 4: Home/Focus Groups―WASC Criteria

What are the criteria

concepts?

Indicators/Prompts

What evidence is needed for analysis?

Gathering and Analyzing Data/Information by Home and Focus Groups

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Focus Group Dialogue: Sample Questions

What do we know already, including the supporting evidence?

What is already in the profile?

What evidence is needed from the home groups?

What particular evidence is needed from the home groups related to the identified critical academic needs, e.g., how can we all support the English learners? Writing?

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Includes analyzing:

What the students are doing and producing

Student interviews

Other interviews, observations, etc.

Observable Evidence

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Examples of types of work (especially related to critical learner needs):

• Typical work, such as writing or solving math problems

• Projects, such as senior project

• Research Paper

• Same performance tasks or assignments

• Portfolios

• Case studies

Evidence:

Examining Student Work

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Individually…

• review student work samples.

• sort work into high, middle, low levels of performance.

As a group discuss…

• the characteristics of the three categories

• how to ensure student work is representative of the school’s various subgroups

• the extent to which the results of this learning opportunity demonstrate the desired performance quality of the selected standards and schoolwide learner outcomes

Examining Student Work: Problem Solving

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What strategies might you use to ensure student work is incorporated in your work?

What’s our purpose in looking at this student work.

What was the task designed to assess? How effective is it?

What are patterns or trends across the samples?

What are the misunderstandings and understandings?

What are implications for instruction and curriculum?

Learning from student work

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Learning from student work

How well the student understands the topic of the assignment?

The student’s mastery of a learning standard?

The student’s competence in our critical learner need? Our own grading standards?

Our next steps: press on, reteach, circle back later….?

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Evidence:

Student Observations/Interviews

Strategies: Walkthroughs

Roving teacher substitutes Teacher journal

Shadowing students Individual or group student interviews

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Ground Rules for Observations

Agreed upon time for the observation

No name policy

Stay for full class period

No discussion of the lesson in a specific sense (confidentiality)

Pre-meeting (advance knowledge)

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The Learning Snapshot

What the students are doing

___ lecture ____ using reading skills ___ video ____ note taking ___ lab ____ book task ___ group work ____ technology

What skills are being used ___ reading ____speaking ___writing ____computing What schoolwide learner outcomes were observed? ___ #1 ___ #2 ___ #3 What did you learn about critical learner needs?

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How can your school implement staff observations as a regular practice?

What ground rules will ensure a “safe” environment and obtain staff buy-in?

What kind of “cue sheet” will the school develop?

How will the observation results be used in the FOL process?

Questions to answer about observing…

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1) Individually, generate a few sample student questions.

2) Find a partner and share these questions.

3) Debrief, for example

– Open-ended questions

– Non-biased

– Concrete

– Simple language

Evidence:

Interviewing

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WASC Template www.acswasc.org

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Critical Learner Needs & WASC Criteria

Focus Group Discussions

How will you consider the critical student achievement needs during the analysis of the

current program using the WASC criteria?

How will you use the questions raised around the critical learner needs (in Chapter III)?

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• Comment on the degree to which this criterion is being addressed

• Comment on the degree to which this criterion impacts the school’s ability to address one or more of the identified critical learner needs

Conclusions – two new prompts

Students: Is it different if

we use different

subgroups?

Race/ethnicity? Program?

Grade level? SLC?

How Much?

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Do the findings respond to what is being asked by the criteria guide question(s) and the supporting indicators?

How does the evidence support the findings?

Has the school gained insight about the degree to which learning is being supported, especially the critical learner needs?

Are the identified and prioritized growth needs aligned to the findings and evidence?

Activity: Critiquing a Focus Group Summary

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Plan of Day

Checking Up

Getting organized

Task 1: Profile



Moving Forward



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Self-Study: Schoolwide Action Plan

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Alignment: Findings, Strengths, Growth Areas, Action Plan

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Revise comprehensive action plan that will drive achievement of the schoolwide learner outcomes.

Establish an ongoing follow-up process to monitor implementation and accomplishment of the schoolwide action plan.

FOL, pp. 59-61

WASC Task 5

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Product: Chapter V

• Revised action plan.

• Additional strategies within subject areas/support programs.

• Ongoing follow-up process.

FOL, pp. 59-60

WASC Task 5

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What are the critical elements that will enable your school to focus on the analysis of student

achievement?

Reflection: Self-Study Process

W A S C

We

Are

Student

Centered