I Have an Opinion About Learning

Raising the Bar, Literally

2012-02-25T11:55:00.001-08:00

We often use the expression "raising the bar" in education, but most people do so in regard to standards or even some other concept that may be a little bit abstract. When I use that expression, I am thinking of this particular data piece that I would like to share with all of you now.

Below is ascatter plot I lifted from a presentation that I first saw at a conference several years ago by noted researcher Doug Willms developed through his PISAresearch. The line on the chart below shows average reading literacy score relative to socioeconomicstatus. As expected, there is a clear correlation between these two factors. The data rep from the Ministry of Education tells us that socioeconomic status the slope in BC influences at approximately 5-7%, which is "quite good" when compared to most other jurisdictions and their steeper lines, where socioeconomic status is not as effectively moderated by the other factors in the equation. This is one of the reasons BC education system typically places in the top 2 to 5 in the world when these types of comparisons occur. Essentially, a higher and flatter line is better.

If you look further at the scatter plot, you shouldnotice that there are many dots all along the continuum on either side of thatline, indicating that some individuals from very humble environments are stillvery literate, and vice-versa. The average may trend upward, but the scatter plottells much more than the average does, which is usually the case. My understanding is that most achievement scores in public schools would look something like this literacy scatter plot – whether it would be FSA tests or English marks or whatever it may be, and this shows why I am uncomfortable using socioeconomic status as a reason to simply disregard tests like the FSA, or the ones that currently exist in our Graduation Program. In our system there are students that achieve all along the continuum despite their household wealth, and we should be using that information to identify their specific learning needs and support them with their learning.

The next chart (also lifted from Doug Wilmms) gives a picture of what our role should be in the education system in a slightly broader sense. Wherever our students are performing in the "current" situation, it should be our objective to "raise and level" that line by improving all students' performance, and reducing the difference in achievement between our poorest students and our richest ones.

Currently I work in a school whose clientele is not particularly wealthy. The decline of the logging industry has not been kind to our little town, and I felt when I arrived there was a bit of a malaise in the school community around student success. We have made some progress in the last few years through the hard work of the staff, the drive of our students, and improved support from our parents, and as much as we still have a way to go in our journey, there has been a genuine shift in what learning looks like in our school and our results have bumped up as a result. In the BCELC school leadership sessions, principals were told that the strategies that we use to support struggling learners also work for confident learners, and these will indeed "raise and level the bar" in our schools. These are some of the more specific strategies and concepts that I think have helped us to do that for the students at our school:

A caring and supportive school culture where students are known and valued as people. Without this in place first, the rest of the list is unlikely to have much impact
Ongoing PLC sessions that build the vocabulary and skill set of the teaching staff regarding Assessment for Learning
A renewed focus on the 2004 Graduation Program, tracking our struggling students closely, and placing a priority on supporting them through the key road blocks
Adding a literacy class to the middle school exploratory rotation and using the DART reading test not just to update district data, but as a means to inform teaching practice
School decisions based on what is best for student learning, which often means protecting instructional time at the expense of other activities. This has meant fewer assemblies, shorter or fewer school-wide activities, and more contact time back into exam weeks etc.
Weekly Learning Services Team meetings involving principals, school counsellor, alternate ed., learning assistance teachers, and an open invitation for all staff to attend to talk about students, and then apply support and intervention strategies and resources
Sharing the goals of the school, our focus on learning, and the types of strategies we are trying to use with the school community
Encouraging different learning options as a means to complete graduation requirements
Encouraging a shift away from recognizing what students are doing (task completion) towards what they are learning (concept mastery and skill development)
And perhaps most importantly, not just believing all of our students can be successful - insisting on it

When I hear the expression "raise the bar" I now immediately think of student performance, and all of the opportunities that will avail themselves to them as a result of academic success. Developing authentic literacy skills, mastering core math concepts, passing required courses as well as demonstrating proficiency by passing the exams that come with them (writing these takes up .03% of total instructional time K-12 in BC) and graduating from high school preferably with the broad range of 21st century skills needed to continue learning through both formal and informal means, are some of the key landmarks of success in school. If the main purpose of school in a democratic society is to give each of our students the maximum chance to be successful and to use education as a means overcome inherited economic disadvantages, then "raising and leveling" the performance bar has to be the primary objective of our work. I believe we can have a significant impact on student learning and performance in the school system despite inherited socioeconomic disadvantages, and even within a climate of labour unrest and impending educational change, we should still insist that we do.

What do Principals Look for When They Hire?

2012-02-11T12:40:00.000-08:00

I like havingstudent teachers in the building. They are predominantly bright and keen andexcited, and they bring an influx of positive energy to our school. They alsoremind me that teaching and learning is fun and sometimes a little bit scary,and as much as the universities are doing a better job than ever preparingstudents for their work, in my opinion, there is still an awful lot to knowabout working with kids and working within an organization that cannot belearned by coursework alone and the practicum sessions really help with that.It is also a great reminder of the power of a learning community and amount of collective wisdom on a staff. The kids like havingthem because they are usually younger and have some fun lessons they've beensaving up for their practicum for the last several months, and the teacherslike having them because it is great to have another adult in the room, it isenjoyable to be a mentor, and some have even told me it reminds them to get"on their game" and try to be just that much more prepared andself-aware about their own practice so their pre-service teacher gets the bestexperience possible. However, as engaging as this process may be foreverybody, practice teaching is about the candidate moving along a continuum ofknowledge and comfort and credentials so that they are ready to become aprofessional working teacher. To be blunt, this means getting a job.

The first thing Iwant to clarify is that I never have seen teaching as a job. You can call it aprofession or a career if you like. I don't like to use the term "calling"because that has other connotations, but it is much more akin to that. You needto love working with young people, love working in a system, love your subjectmatter, love both being on stage and sitting along side, love learning andconstant change, and know this is what you want to do. You need to besure. Just like the wands in Harry Potter (this is for you, Dani), youdon't choose teaching; it chooses you. Assuming you have worked hard inyour coursework, have now developed your own style, you are keen to keep developingand moving forward, you have found that teaching an engaging lesson is alittle addictive, you are already certain this is what you want to do, your time at the university is wrapping up, and it is now timeto start the application process, here are some things I and some others look for when hiring:

You need exact orvery good credentials. For most jobs you should have course work or experienceor both in the posted teaching areas to even get a look. This may not be thecase for some more esoteric postings or as you apply to more remote areas; however,for most positions in the public school system, if we hire someone who is notqualified we may end up in grievance meetings, which is like a detention hallfor principals. So, please be qualified or don't expect much.
I'm more likely tonotice a resume that isn't exactly like everyone else's. If I have a big pileto go through, having a generic format doesn't help you get to the small pile.Make sure it is neat, well proofread, looks professional, and has a collectionof activities and experiences on there that might help you in your teaching career. Otherteaching jobs (or similar jobs) clearly help, especially if your previous principal/supervisor has supportedyour work with a nice reference letter.
This is my ownbias, but I HATE folders or plastic covers. Submissions to district offices often need to be photocopied and/or faxed so please take that nasty thing off, and be cautious with your colour choices as well.
Some people liketranscripts attached. If they show course work that supports the posting, thathelps. Some people love high grades, too. I have mixed opinions on that one.While I certainly respect keenness and knowledge, I have also found that peoplewho do too well in school sometimes have trouble relating to kids who don’t. Either way, we are probably not over-thinking this one and you shouldn't either.
References matter.Having someone with some credibility who I can contact who is willing to go tobat for you with first hand or close knowledge of your teaching is veryhelpful. Effusive people are nice to have as references, and if they call backwithin the hour because they are excited about you getting a job, it makes apositive impression. If I happen to know them myself, this is even better.Hiring is a high trust endeavour.
Don't make me worktoo hard. I'm not lazy, but I may have a lot of applicants for this job and Imay be on a very tight timeline. My wife (who works in another field) likes the"reference available by request" piece. I disagree. Put theinformation on there the first time.
If you call ordrop by and introduce yourself, it shows you are interested and have a littlegumption. It also helps me connect the resume to an actual person. It might not helpyou this time, but it might help you later.

Congrats, you madethe short list are going to be interviewed. What is next?

Know somethingabout the school where you are applying. A quick trip to the website and a lookthrough the school plan will give you some key pieces of information. Calling astaff member you know or one of the principals to find out more is only going to help you.
We are looking for great instructors first, great colleagues second, and great supporters of school culture third. This hasn't always been the case. When we ask a question about the third piece, you can start talking about the team you want to coach or activity you want to sponsor. We still love that stuff, but it doesn't get you the job to the extent that it used to.
New teachersshould not only have some solid working knowledge of formative assessmentanyway, but should also have some tangible experience using these (and other!)strategies in a classroom. I am even more impressed when someone has a strategyor two that they are working on, and one they are planning to try next, and canspeak to clearly to that. We are not looking for mastery - we are looking forpeople who are interested in learning themselves - hopefully for the rest oftheir careers. Real anecdotes go farther than theoretical knowledge.
You want to knowwhat is going on in education. Having some opinions on technology in (and out of) the classroom should help you, as would knowledge of the BCED Plan, assuming you are in BC. Interviewers are going to start asking about collaboration andinquiry-based learning projects and all things PL, so you might want to have some ideas aboutwhat you would like to do in your subject areas.
When I aminterviewing you, I am imagining you in a room full of students as you speak.If you are confident, clear, thoughtful, and engaging, I can see this workingout for you. You don't know everything, but you should be genuinely interestedin almost everything. If you can smile and laugh in an interview, you are morelikely to enjoy yourself in a classroom, and be successful working withkids.
That being said,we know this is nerve-wracking and it isn't going to be perfect. In my lastinterview, I went blank for several seconds, and I mean a total flat-line.Relax. We get it. If you make a mistake, shrug it off and move on. It's not like every moment in the class is going to be a gem, either.
If you don't get the job, don't take it too hard. [Telling a great candidate that they were not the successful applicant is my least favorite part of this job.] The competition was very tough, you are still a caring and committed professional,and there will be something out there for you. Build on what you learned in theprocess and use it next time. By the way, more than half of my hires have beenon second or third interviews.

Hereare some quotes and contributions from other principals to add to the mix:

DarrellWright, Crofton Elementary: “Howdo you teach a student to read? How do you know when they are able toread at a (insert grade level here)? What do you do if they don't get there? Then I ask [them] to tell me about a time they used this strategy with astruggling student. [I need to see] AFL in the answer and an understanding ofphonemic awareness ..”

CaleBirk, South Kamloops Secondary: “Relationshippiece and assessment are key--what do they feel role of assessment is for kidsAND for the teacher? How do they discover what kids know?”

ChrisWejr, Kent Elementary: “Evidence of and focus onrelationships with kids, and is a LEARNER themselves with evidence of HOW they stayup to date. [Candidates should be] collaborative, reflective, and perhaps evenquestion current common practices. My Pet peeve is when applicants write/talkabout all of THEIR accomplishments rather than kids.” Read Chris's new blog on teacher training and the importance of technology by clicking here.

Johnny Bevacqua, St. Patrick’s RegionalSchool: “Evidence of recent learning initiatives(innovation), use of technology to engage, sound use of assessment best practices,passion for subject area, and communication skills.” Read his new blog on hiring by clicking here.

Aaron Parker, Chilliwack Middle School: “Acouple non-researched observations including being able to answer what you did, rather than what you know or believe. Intangibles [also] count.”

Dani Garner, VP, LCSS: “Forwardthinking instructional and assessment practices, that "je ne saisquois" that you just know translates to good relationships with kids, and willingnessto collaborate and be a team player.“

Jeff Rowan, Quamichan Middle School: "I want to be convinced that the person in front of me knows how to connect with our most difficult kids and will make them have a successful experience in their class. How do you convince me? Talk about instructional practice, your experiences and show me your enthusiasm for the profession and learning."

Dave Dougan, Bench Elementary: "Varied experiences in their backgrounds. Hopefully [these] will provide them with common understandings to that they can make positive connections with their students."

LynnHilt, Brecknock Elementary, mentions "elaborating": “Please provide concrete examples of how this looks inyour classroom, or how it would look. Paint me a picture. Even if I don’t gettime to look through your portfolio, ask if I want to see it. One of thecandidates actually left her portfolio with us, and included a self-addressed,stamped envelope for us to return it to her. Genius- although, better yet, giveme the link to your online portfolio.” Read her entire blog on the topic of teacher interviews Emotions Available by Request by clicking here. If you really want to extend your thinking, spend some time going through the comments, too!

Michael Kee, District Principal, North Vancouver, wrote "the candidates considered must have demonstrated excellent qualities in all areas of the classroom, including instruction, assessment, and connections with students. We also look for the personal and personable qualities the applicant brings to the job. We further consider what the applicant brings and can contribute to the school and community." He describes his district's priorities for hiring here.

I encourage principals and teacher candidates to add to the conversation in the box below. Good luck to all of you. Teaching is the greatest job (make that career) in the world!

What is the Right Amount of Choice?

2012-02-02T14:20:00.000-08:00

As we move alongthe continuum towards personalizing learning in British Columbia, we findourselves considering new options and also having to rethink some oldones. Prior to really investigating what true student-centered learning wouldlike, we have already made many changes in our small school to the way we dobusiness. We have opened up many opportunities (as I mentioned in thisprevious post) asa means to better engage students and keep them moving forward in theirlearning, but this semester change week many new questions are surfacingthat are stretching our thinking even further. A few examples:

· Should a student who has 48% in English 11 be allowed to take English12? Most of us can see how and why we would do that. Okay, how about 44%? Yes? Okay, how about 40%? That probably has a fewof you thinking. How about a student who came from alternate or home schoolingor some other situation, is able to demonstrate reasonable skills, but canprovide no evidence of actual English 11? Hmmm.

· Should a student in grade 9 who is currently enrolled in Science 9 beable to take Science 10 concurrently? This question is complicated further asthis course is one of the "big five" that comes with a Ministry examattached to it.

· Should senior students be able to opt out of an elective block to takea distributed learning (DL) class? Okay, what about junior students? Whatabout junior students opting out of a core class to do a DL course? Isthere a cut-off for these choices and should there be one?

Traditionally,school has been a pretty "lock-step" operation. Courses were offeredinside the regular instructional day only, spare blocks were either not allowedor were available just for grade 12's, and there were no other real choicesavailable for most students. Those who failed a course, in most if not allschools, would have had to repeat the entire course before even being allowed toenter the course that naturally followed it. This common misperception quietly remains intact in many places, even though the concept of a"pre-requisite", meaning the course that you would need to pass in order totake the next one, essentially does notexist at the Ministry level. The schools still choosing to enforce this idea are doing so at some risk, because in BC, a student can enroll in adistance learning school of their choice and register in any course that isavailable. This means that if we are too strict in what we allow at our school,we may end up losing our students to the "competition" that allows students to enroll in any course they want.

So far I ampleased with the way the additional options have helped our students. I see far less harm than good to date, and students have often shown compelling success when given an opportunity. I am also very aware of the fact that freedom is only helpful to a point, andhaving too much too soon can be counterproductive for adolescents. Our job then, aseducators, is to make sure students and parents fully understand theimplications of the choices they make, and counsel them to enroll in classes that will best meet their learning needs, and away from classes they are not ready for or that we are sure will not work for them. As a person who really believesin the power of great instruction, I also want kids in enrolling classes connectingand engaging with teachers as often as possible, especially in the coreareas that are mandatory for graduation. DL can be a poor alternative to real enrolling class time, especially when not well-supported, and the low completion rates speak to that.

We are walking a bit of a tight rope here as the system changes from the 2004 Graduation Program to whatever comes next.Changes in expectations, the nature of our clientele, and the progress andubiquity of technology and educational choice all mean that we must continue to adapt what we do within the old rules, orface the fact that we are not meeting our students' needs. We do not want ourlearners bypassing the system that we are working so hard to improve.

BCPSEA Weighs In On the Hidden Costs of Job Action

2012-01-24T09:24:00.000-08:00

This excerpt highlighting some of the less talked about issues surrounding Job Action has been taken from page 10 and 11 of BCPSEA’s January 20-21 discussion paper “CanWe Get There from Here?” I would feel remiss if I did not share this piece as these are the very thoughts that have weighed on many of us since the start of the year.

[WARNING: If you really don't want to read about how not having meetings or written communications etc. might not work for some students or the school system in general, I advise you to back out of this page now.]

“There hasbeen much highlighting of the efforts teachers are making during the current phaseone strike to provide good and current information to parents and students, to focuson teaching and quality classroom assessment, and to get on with the work thatis more important than the meetings and administrative requirements thatconstitute part of a teacher’s job. All of this is true for many studentsand their families. Parents are getting phone calls from teachers. Studentspursuing post-secondary options are being quietly assisted by classroomteachers and counselors. Those clients of our system who are proactive andattuned to requirements and deadlines are able to navigate “the new normal.”

However, thereis a silent and insidious element to this strike that has been present fromthe beginning of the year. It gets almost no attention. It has no voice. It has substantialconsequences and casualties. Simply put, those students and families withoutvoice — the intellectual, social, and political capacity to self-advocate — are losingout every day in countless ways.

Those parentsare less visible at School-Based Team meetings where the principal’s role wasoften to either represent their perspective or to be at their side, encouragingthem to speak and to listen. They are less likely to be the recipients of “inthe moment” feedback from teachers about their children who are in themargins of the classroom and school life. The normal interactions andsharing done by professional staff have been disrupted, and theconversations and problem-solving sessions about students at risk are lesslikely to happen in a planned and thoughtful way. Being invisible becomes easier.

For somesecondary students, there is evidence of impact from the lack of report cards andthe related information that helps them to plan, to gain independence and responsibility,and to begin to navigate their futures. There’s nodoubt that the well-organized, “A type” personalities will do fine. They havesufficient confidence and parent support to get what they need within therequired timelines even if it requires some additional arm twisting andthe establishment of informal channels and workarounds. However, there isanother substantial student cohort in our secondary schools. They are thestudents who need the structure, the reminders, the feedback, and theencouragement (and monitoring) to help them reach their goals. These students, includinga high percentage of aboriginal learners, often achieve success in a learning journeythat is more scaffolded than is necessary for some other students. Staff whoare responsible for working proactively, reactively, and in the momentwith various populations in our secondary schools rely on accessing andacting on data — none of which is currently available. The studentwho wants to be the first in her family to go on to post-secondarylearning needs a helping hand in achieving that goal. His/her parents “don’tknow what they don’t know” about early entrance, scholarship and bursaryeligibility, and other supports that may be in place. Teachers are providing suchinformation, but it is not systematically going to all and certainly notgetting to those who need it most.

There arecountless impacts of the strike action. Schools and districts are losing momentum. Capacity building and the development of authentic, rich learning communitiesis slipping. It won’t be quickly or easily recovered as we get more and morefamiliar with a “new (lesser) normal.” Issues like capacity-building andlearning communities are about the conditions that should be in place foradults to effectively meet student needs. More crucial and urgent is theissue of direct service to students on a day to day basis. In publiceducation, our greatest quest should be to “interrupt predictability” bythoughtfully intervening for kids who need it most. We can’t increase equityif the conditions in place allow the rich to get richer, the more enabled tobecome further enabled, and those with advocacy well in place to receivethe disproportionate amount of attention. If those without voice continueto be the unheard casualties of the strike action, they and we will pay abig toll for a long time.

As a result ofthe current job action, students, parents, and the school system as a whole areunder pressure. Extracurricular activities and field trips have been curtailedor cancelled. Unless they are proactive, parents are not receiving regularcommunication from teachers about their child’s progress. In some schoolsand districts, teachers will not accommodate the requests of workingparents to discuss issues outside of instructional hours. Schooladministrators are taking over supervision duties, administering provincial examsand assessments (including the Foundation Skills Assessment or FSA) and markingthe essay-based portions of provincial exams that are marked locally. School- anddistrict-based management staff are feeling the negative effects on theirhealth and wellbeing of taking on the additional responsibilities of work thatteachers are not performing.

The job actionalso creates a very difficult work environment that prevents meaningful andcollaborative discussion between teachers and administrators, both withinschools and in districts as a whole. It would be disingenuous to suggestthat there is no impact on student learning."

The completedocument can be downloaded here.

Last Chance for Feedback!

2012-01-21T12:07:00.000-08:00

We are now comingto the very end of the semester. While our middle school classes are in sessionall week, our high school classes wrap up on Wednesday, with many having somekind of summative assessment occurring on that day. (The HS Exam Week Schedulecan be found on our school website.)

Dani and I will bevisiting classes one more time to hang posters highlighting the Three Critical Questions and remind our highschool students the next two days is their last chance for feedback thissemester. Hopefully students will use the questions to help guide theirthinking, then engage in conversations with their teachers - even up to theproverbial "last minute" - in order to learn what they need to learnso they can be as successful in their exams and their courses as possible.

While the systemstill requires summative assessments that tell us what students have learned,many of us in education are spending much more energy promoting the kinds ofongoing conversations and strategies that inform and guide the learner asthey learn because this is what has bigger effect by far. Formativeassessment, also known as Assessment for Learning (AFL), is not a newconcept by any means, but has moved to the forefront in education in recentyears, spurred on by the release of the Dylan Wiliam study Inside the Black Box. The six big practices of AFL have been thelearning focus at LCSS during PLC sessions with our staff, and ofcourse, the most impactful of these, is descriptive feedback, reflectedin our More Feedback in January 2012 promotion.

When I wrote thisis the "last chance" for feedback, it is really about creating just alittle more urgency with the HS semester ending and the Feedback Monthpromotion wrapping up. I sincerely hope that raising awareness of the power offeedback has encouraged our staff and students to engage in more and moreconversations around where students are in their learning and this practicecontinues to grow for the rest of the school year and beyond.

Thanks again to everyone who participated in thisidea, either through practice, direct or Internet conversation, or by any othermeans. Keep talking about learning. It matters!

Three Weeks and Three Critical Questions

2012-01-15T12:25:00.000-08:00

With the semesterend looming it is a great time to visit classes and remind everyone that now isthe time to really focus on learning in preparation for their summative tests.Whether there is a Ministry exam attached to a course or not, this is an especially good timeto revisit the three critical questions:

1. What am I learning?

2. How is itgoing?

3. Where do I needto go next?

In my own course Iuse these on a daily basis as a part of a learning journal where students writea sentence or two in response to each question, then look back every threeweeks over their journal and do some deeper reflecting. Not only does this helpstudents to make more concrete connections to the daily learning intentions and the course outcomes, it is a greatopportunity for a conversation and to offer feedback on their learning overall.I am often impressed with the depth of the answers I get from students, andrecommend trying this strategy with your class.

As we enter weekthree of Feedback Month at LCSS, we are continuing on with daily quotes on thestaff room whiteboard, emails with various blogs and articles, and ourFacebook promotion with lunch tickets going to students who know our feedbackquote of the day. As I said in our district meeting last week, I can't be surethat there is more feedback happening in our classrooms right now, but I dobelieve that conversations around learning in the building have returned topre-strike levels, and that has to be a good thing.

Thank you to everyone in the social media communityfor your "page views" and "retweets" and "mentions"and especially for getting behind the idea of Feedback Month in whatever manneryou may have in your own schools. Keep talking about learning. It matters.

Feedback Month - One Week Recap

2012-01-07T09:46:00.000-08:00

After one week of promoting the use of descriptive feedback, both in myown school and through social media, I thought it would be useful to pause and"check-in". So far in the school this week Dani and I have:

Visited every period one class to explain descriptive feedback andencourage its use
Run a series of "Feedback Month" PA announcements
Shared the Hattie article with interested staff via email and papercopies left in staff room, and
Shared the Paterson blog on feedback via email (though in BC with thelabour dispute we know staff "need not" read any of it)
Shared my own blog through email. Favorite teacher comment so far: "Wow, you can really get lost in there." I think it was as much about quantity as quality, but I found it amusing.
Left a new message on the staff room whiteboard each day mentioningFeedback Month with some information intended to encourage and/or clarifydescriptive feedback
Engaged in more than ten quick conversations about feedback and FeedbackMonth with individual staff, and engaged in a few more that were somewhatlonger and more detailed

Participation insocial media has also been worthwhile. It is great to know that there are othereducators "out there" who are interested in instructional practicesand also want to encourage descriptive feedback in their classrooms. So farthis week we have:

Sent 28 "Tweets" encouraging or promoting descriptive feedbackand the concept of "January 2012 is Feedback Month"
Seen or received at least that many "Tweets","Retweets", "Mentions" of this idea on Twitter, as well asabout 20 message exchanges
Feedback Month was promoted on our official LCSS Facebook page. Coming up: chance for prizes!
Posted the first blog entry on Feedback Month, and now a second one.
Received three excellent blog entries from other educators regardingfeedback - See bottom of page

If I were to haveintentions for all this, it would be pretty simple. First, just talkingabout instruction and learning is a healthy and enjoyable process on many,many levels, and I need to continue doing what I can to keep thoseconversations going in my own school and beyond. Second, the research Ikeep reading, whether from the Hattie study or the work of Mike Schmoeker orwhatever it may be, dovetails with my own observations on this small piece thatmakes a phenomenal difference: If a teacher who has given instructionand students have started to engage in individual or small group seat work,then makes the effort to circulate, check for understanding, and giveout those quick but specific details to affirm or guide the students' practice,learning improves drastically.

That's pretty muchit.

If you are a partof the LCSS community, I hope this explains or adds to your understanding ofwhat is going on. If you are an educator "out there" I hope thishelps you to encourage the use of feedback in your school or classroom. As Imentioned in one of my "Tweets" (note that I keep putting quotesaround that term - is it really an accepted word yet?) you can go big with thisprocess, or you can simply just start a conversation. Everychange, big or small, begins somewhere.

As promised, hereare three blogs that I have really enjoyed. Thank you very much for sharing.It's important.

TheLearning Shore

Sea to Sky Learning

At the Principal's Office

Some more articles on Feedback:

http://www.slav.schools.net.au/synergy/vol6num2/dinham.pdf

http://www.scotsman.com/news/professor_dylan_william_assessing_the_best_method_of_learning_1_941504

http://growthmindseteaz.org/files/Power_of_Feedback_JHattie.pdf

More Feedback in January 2012

2012-01-01T13:06:00.000-08:00

I'm not a big fanof resolutions, but here is one I would like to encourage all of you to getbehind. In the month of January, do whatever you can to encourage morefeedback in your classrooms and in your childrens' classrooms.

What is feedback? John Hattie describes it as "providinginformation how and why the child understands and misunderstands, and whatdirections the student must take to improve". One of AFL's Six Big Practices, it is sometimes alsodescribed as "informing the student how they can close the gap betweenwhere they are in their learning to where they need to be". Hattie's research indicates it is the numberone factor in classroom learning, more important than any otherinstructional piece, and more significant even than a student's priorknowledge! What can you do? Here are some suggestions:

Explainit at your next staff meeting (educators outside of BC)
Explainit at your next district leadership meeting
Emailyour staff and explain or remind them what feedback is and why it is so important
Put"January is Feedback Month" on your staff room board, then speak toeach of your colleagues or staff members and explain what that phrase means
Goclass to class, describe the term to the students, and encourage them to askfor more feedback every day
Tellyour own children "January is Feedback Month" and encourage them to askfor more feedback about their learning
And,if you are teaching a class yourself, find a way to make one even just one moreattempt to give good quality feedback to each student in every block you teach inthe month of January

Join me in makingJanuary 2012 Feedback Month, and do whatever you can to improve the learning inyour classrooms.

PJ

Want to know more about feedback?
Eddy White Slide Show on Feedback
More research on The Power of Feedback summarized by Hattie and Timperly
Literature Review on Assessment and Feedback by Ooms and van der Sluis
Slide show on Formative Assessment by Dylan Wiliam

Towards a Grading Policy that Better Supports Student Learning

2011-12-29T20:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Staff,Students, and Parents,

After three yearsof great work on instruction and assessment at LCSS, and with the province ofBC poised to move forward with Personalized Learning, it is time to startlooking at school grading policies that support the kinds of practices we knowimprove student learning. Please take some time to review the following sampletaken from St. Patricks Regional High School asa starting point for our future discussions.

The policy sectionsyou see below represent several years of dialogue at the school, and arewell-grounded in the research of Ken O'Connor,Doug Reeves,and Mike Schmoeker. (St. Pat's PrincipalJohnny Bevacqua would also like to thank Saint Michael'sUniversity School in Victoria for sharing their policy.)

I look forward toresuming conversations with staff regarding this and other topics in earnest.In the meantime, it is important that all school stakeholders have adequateopportunity to reflect on any possible changes to our policies and have theopportunity to discuss them. Please be encouraged to contact Ms. Garner or meat the school if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Peter Jory

LCSSPrincipal

Purpose of Assessment

Assessment servesa variety of purposes throughout the learning process from start to finish. Assessmentpractices should be employed in order to pre-assess, direct instruction,identify gaps in understanding and to guide further learning. Formativeassessments, designed to guide the learning process will be offered in advanceof major summative assessments.

When determininggrades, teachers need to account for the following:

a) Missedassessments: When a student misses a particular assignment or test, a mark of I(incomplete) will be assigned and an alternative plan devised to provideevidence of mastery (a mark of zero should not be recorded and averaged intothe grade). If a student has missed a number of significant assessments, theteacher may be unable to accurately assess the student’s performance and shouldrecord a grade of I (insufficient evidence available) on the report.

b) Incongruentassessments: Where a significant disparity or anomaly in student performanceover time is evident, a interventions by teacher need tobe implemented to address the gap in understanding. This willallow for another assessment to confirm the student’s mastery of the outcomesin question.

c) Weightingperformance over time: Teachers are to ensure that a student’s grade accuratelyreflects his/her best understanding of particular outcomes. Where a student hasdemonstrated significant improvement in terms of mastery of particular outcomesthrough the year, the more recent evidence should be emphasized in thedetermination of the grade. This eliminates the need to “average” marks in anycalculation.

Work Habits

We expect that allstudents will put forth their best. Work Habit skills will be reported onbased on our work habits rubric. When necessary, teachers should provideanecdotal comments regarding specific work habits.

Attendance

Attending class ina timely, regular fashion is the shared responsibility of the student andparents and an expectation of the school. Regular attendance demonstratescommitment to learning in a community and prepares students for higher learningand for life. When frequent absences lead to an insufficient amount ofassessment evidence, a mark of “I” will be assigned.

Late or incomplete student work

Late or incompletework is often symptomatic of other, more serious issues for student learning. Teachers should show compassion in trying to identify the root causes. Inmost cases, the consequence of not completing an assignment will be completingthe assignment.

The consequencefor late assignments will not be applied using mark penalties.Lateness will be reported on in the anecdotal/behavioral section of the reportand carry other behavioural consequences as outlined below.

When an assignmentis late or incomplete, at the discretion of the teacher and/or administrator, astudent will be held responsible to:

a) work withtheir teacher to create a timeline for completing the work and/or

b) come infor extra help and/or

c) worktowards completing the assignment during their free time either before or afterschool or at lunch/recess and/or

d) design analternative assessment piece which demonstrates their mastery of learningoutcomes.

In the absence ofsufficient evidence of the attainment of learning outcomes due to a number ofmissed assessments, a grade of I or incomplete will be reported untilsuch time as sufficient evidence is made available by the student.

Plagiarism and academic dishonesty

Using content andvalues appropriate for the grade in question, teachers at all grade levels willseek out opportunities to inform students about plagiarism and other forms ofacademic dishonesty

Academicdishonesty and plagiarism will be treated as a behavioral issue. In someinstances the student’s mark will be impacted. When an incident has beendiscovered;

a) thestudent may be required to re-submit the work in question in order to demonstratemastery of the skills and content.

b) the formatand timing of the submission will be at the discretion of the teacher and willlikely result in a loss of discretionary time privileges for the student.

c) Teacherswill communicate the incident to parents and an member of the principal team

Students who are found to have committed academic dishonesty may also besubject to sanctions outlined in our school agenda.

Encouraging the Use of Assessment for Learning Through PLC Time

2011-12-21T15:54:00.000-08:00

Whenever I'm askedabout working in the Cowichan Valley School District, I will always mention howgreat it is to have Professional Learning Community (PLC) time. Six times ayear we dismiss eighty minutes early across the district in order for teachersand principals to work collaboratively on school goals and the instructionalstrategies that will help us achieve them. Then VP Jeff Rowan and I had both attended BCELC sessions in Vancouver and were veryinterested in bringing Assessment forLearning (AFL) to our school. It proved to be timely when ourSchool District staff also decided to focus on AFL for our annual districtImplementation Day. After meeting with our School Planning Council, thenwith department heads, and then the full staff to set some new goals forour Graduation Program, our decision to follow that first ImplementationDay with a series of focused PLC sessions seemed to be a great way to moveforward as an organization. We also supplemented those sessions with severalother learning opportunities over the next three years, and these are thehighlights:

School District Implementation Day session with a Ruth Suttonwebcast to build a basic understanding of AFL acrossthe district School PLC sessionidentifying the Six Big Practices of AFL. Staff members shared examples of strategies theyalready use that reflect one of the "Big Six"
A September timetable restructure and introduction of AFL in aSheltered Learning Block as described in my article forthe BCPVPA publication Adminfo
School PLC session viewing a BCELC Webcast on Assessment featuring Tom Schimmer. (The Internet crashed part way through,but some good discussion still occured. The full webcast was replayed afterschool a month later, with attendance optional)
School PLC session on learning intentions with the challenge to havestaff members try using them in the following weeks, then share how it went inthe next session
A follow-up school PLC session where we reported back from our attemptsat using learning intentions, first in department groups, followed by selectedreporting out to the full staff
Release time for four volunteers from the humanities department whodeveloped a list of key outcomes for grades 6-12 so teachers can go"narrower and deeper" with the learning in their classrooms, andimprove their opportunities to use AFL
Two workshops with our family of schools (the two elementary schoolswhose students come to us) with local teacher Dani Garner describing practicalAFL strategies for the classroom and how to make the shift from traditionalassessment to assessment for learning
A second Implementation Day session, this time with Linda Kaser and JudyHalbert focusing on AFL, followed by working sessions in curricular teams todevelop student friendly outcomes
School PLC session on AB partner talk led by our district literacycoordinator, Venessa MacDowell
A tour of Jacquie Lee's grade six classroom where she shared how sheuses posted exemplars, SMART learning strategies, vocabulary, and studentfriendly “I can” statements
The first triple-length PLC working session to decide on key outcomes,develop student friendly “I can" statements, and time to actually writethem on sentence strips for posting in classrooms. (Jacquie made fun of me forcutting up poster paper, and I learned what sentence strips were and that weeven had them in stock!) Staff members who stayed until five o'clock enjoyed ateam-building dinner paid for by grant money
School PLC session on criteria with video examples taken from classroomsin our family of schools, where our students answered the questions: Whereare you in your learning? How it is going? and, Where do youneed to go next?
School PLC session where staff members share their favorite feedbackstrategies in small groups A second triple-length PLC working session onoutcomes and learning intentions, followed by dinner. (Now a wily veteran, thistime I headed right for the sentence strips.)

The schoolleadership team's adoption of AFL in our own classrooms has also helped. Insmall school like ours, the job comes with substantial teaching time, and thisproved to be a great opportunity to experiment with the strategies ourselves,then share our successes and struggles as true teaching colleagues. My takingon Communications 11/12 was particularly helpful in gaining credibility for AFLpractice, as the course is populated with reluctant learners often wellknown by staff, and at the twelve level, it has a mandatory Ministry examattached weighted at forty percent of the total mark, adding to the pressure toproperly prepare students to qualify for graduation. Jeff successfully used AFLin his social studies, leadership, and guitar classes. When he moved on to theprincipalship at Quamichan Middle School prior to last year, his replacement atVP was (surprise!) Dani Garner, who stepped comfortably into English 10, usingher formidable instructional knowledge and high connectivity with students tosupport some of the best exam results we've ever had.

One of my favoritemoments occurred at session at the second Implementation Day, where I wasdescribing the AFL marking process I use, how I expected students to continueto revise assignments with my feedback until they are "fully meeting"expectations, and how I assessed each student's learning overall, instead ofaveraging their percentages to generate a grade. A teacher from another school,not knowing my role in the school, asked incredulously, "And yourprincipal lets you get away with that?" In a rare public moment of comedictiming, I responded, "Oh, he is very supportive."

Staff feedback on ourPLC sessions has been positive, and though there have been a few other topicsmixed in along with some conversations about our school plan of course, thereoccurring focus has allowed staff to feel like they are genuinely movingforward in their understanding and comfort with this complex topic. Many of ourteachers have fully embraced the AFL strategies and would never go back to atraditional assessment model. Others use some of the strategies, perhaps withmore intention now, but still use percentages for individual assignments. In allcases, staff instructional vocabulary has certainly improved during this time,as has the quality of the conversations around learning in our school.

The really goodnews is that this movement has contributed to a higher level of studentengagement in the building and decidedly better results. Grad rates, transitionrates, and student exam success all improved over this three yearspan (especially cohort pass rate - which uses the Sept. 30 count), andthe differential between Ministry exam scores and classroom marks hascompressed as well. The other positive, along with the many flexible programswe have added to help students access learning opportunities, is that ourimproved understanding of AFL has put us in a great position for thepersonalized learning movement, as these concepts will dovetail together mosteffectively. [After some reflection, I am unsure how to facilitate any seriouspersonalized learning programs using only the traditional assessment model!]Many of us in BC look forward to the upcoming changes in our education system,and hopefully, a quick return to the conversations about learning that weenjoyed so much and that were so integral to the improved success of ourstudents.

After All These Years: Still Not That Keen About Homework

2011-12-11T17:37:00.001-08:00

In the ninthgrade, after a particularly unimpressive report card, my parents (botheducators) exiled me to my room for an hour of mandatoryhomework every school night. My drawing really improved, as did my contentknowledge on sports cars, the Boston Celtics, Dungeons and Dragons, and PaulinaPorizkova, but I confess I did very little in regard to actual studying orassignment completion during that time. Keep in mind, this was years beforesmart phones, the Internet, or Call of Duty. I think we still only had twochannels and there certainly wasn’t a TV in my room, and I still wouldn't dohomework!

Years later, as anEnglish teacher, I figured out pretty quickly that if I assigned homework atthe end of class, the top achieving students did it all, the average studentsdid some of it, and the students I was most worried about did little or none ofit. If I actually took the time to sit down and discuss with students why workwasn't done I would get some decent reasons, things that were out of theircontrol. Organization often was an issue, some lived in crowded conditions andlacked a quiet place to work, some would try to do it then get stuck, and somehad an excuse that felt quite familiar to me: "It's boring, and when I amat home I want to do other things." I don't think I would have told myteachers their work was “boring” when I was in school - but I appreciated thehonesty. It didn’t make much sense to continue with a practice that madestudents resent me and my course and broadened the already significant gapbetween my top and bottom achievers.

I soon stoppedassigning work at the end of class, and tried very hard to mete out areasonable amount at the beginning, so the students at higher skill levelscould stretch themselves in regard to quality instead of quantity, but everyonecould get it all done by the end of class if they worked at it. I tried to makethe lessons as interesting as possible, adding more cooperative activities tooffset the grammar drills. I also started to see the value of the learningenvironment, how a group could influence individuals in a positive way, and howmy circulating and checking in with students made a big difference to what theyaccomplished during a period. When students closed their books and said,"I'll just do it for homework," I started telling them I didn't wantthem to have homework, and they needed to do it now, with us, while I was thereto help.

There was no"down time" in my class. Students who finished that day's work beforeclass was over were given time to revise ongoing written projects, prepare forthe next quiz, start the next assignment (which I would typically have ready togo), or if they were fully caught up and successful in the class, they couldread quietly or even finish something from another course. I seemed to get alot out my students with these expectations, and if you were to poll them I ampretty sure they would remember me as one of the more demanding teachers theyhad. This despite the fact they were never assigned homework.

Now as aprincipal, especially one who has been pushing an achievement agenda for thelast three years, you might think I have changed my position on homework, but Ireally haven't. My understanding of educational research and instructionalpractice has grown, but I haven’t come across anything compelling that showshow assigned homework improves learning for any but the most confident andsupported students.

Let me qualifythat statement though. When I talk about assigned homework, I am not talkingabout regular reading with a parent for younger students or independent readingfor older ones. Literacy is extremely important and requires practice,preferably with material the student enjoys. (This may have been the hiddenbenefit of the time I spent in exile!) Mastery of math concepts andcomputational skills are surely helped by flash cards or math games – extrapractice helps. I also believe a high school student in courses leading touniversity will need to spend extra time learning the material if they want toachieve well, get used to working independently, and maximize their options forthe future. Students who miss class time should make up key assignments, butthey will often need to have some support to do that successfully – such aspre-arranged lunchtime or afterschool help sessions to make sure they are ableto keep moving forward. All that considered, I believe that in the vastmajority of cases, assigning work to students to be completed outside of classtime without any support has little positive effect, and can even becounterproductive for some students.

Changing requiresa simple questioning of our belief systems as participants in the educationsystem. I think it’s time to replace the beliefs that drive assigned homework,such as: “practice makes perfect,” “completion shows learning”, and “complianceindicates engagement” with some more complex thinking, and begin using thestrategies that research indicates work for all learners, including:

· Discussing the course outcomes with students

· Thoughtful lessons designed for outcome mastery

· Opportunities for guided practice in partners or groups

· Frequent and specific feedback

· Time for students to reflect on their learning

· And of course, more flexibility in regard to how students maydemonstrate their learning

If engagement ishigh enough during class time, students will learn more than enough to besuccessful, and further learning will be sparked by interest and some time to processwhat happened in class. It is time to pay less attention to how muchwork our students have done, and more attention to where ourstudents are in their learning and what we are doing to help them move along the continuum.

I’m not about toissue any kind of “No More Homework” edict at my school. (Sorry, you kids!)Ideally, teachers along with parents and students, need to reflect on theseissues with the support of our professional learning community, decide whatworks best for the learning in their classes, then work at an appropriate paceto replace familiar strategies with more effective ones over time. The greatthing about my VP and I still having some teaching time, aside from having moredirect student contact, is that we get to experiment in practical ways withinstructional concepts like the ones listed above, share what worked and whatdid not work with our staff, and support them as teaching colleagues. Thiscertainly has been one of the most enjoyable facets of our tenure at theschool, and has been much more effective than simply standing on the sidelinesissuing advice and quoting research. One topic we can never engage in, however,is how to get kids to complete homework. We don’t assign any.

Postscript: My parents and I had a goodlaugh over the article when I first posted it online. Pop said he didn’t thinkthere was any way I could be “up there” all that time and still not get anywork done. I told him, “You clearly underestimated my resolve.” I attributemost of the achievement gain that occurred the following year to paying moreattention in class – a concept now known as student engagement.

Want to read more about not assigninghomework? A great blog by John Spencer. Reviewthis article by Alfie Kohn. More assorted homework findings. NY Times Article. A blog and more resources collected by Joe Bower. Math Homework Not Helpful For more of a big picture view of education, this blog by Jordan Tinney

Education May Be for Later, but Learning is Right Now

2011-12-04T16:32:00.001-08:00

The tact that Igenerally use when I have a “success chat” with a student who is not engaged intheir learning often starts with how very, very short this time is that theyare in school, and how very, very long the rest of their life will be. I oftentalk about how hard it can be to be stuck in a financial situation that isn’t working,having no job, or in a job that pays but is physically or mentally wearing,hating it every day and not having any choice in the matter. Conversely, I alsotalk about the positives of getting up every working day and looking forward todoing a job because it suits them, they are good at it, and they feel like theyare making a difference. After hundreds and hundreds of thesediscussions, not one student has ever sat in my office and said, in their wordsor otherwise, that these ideas are not worth their consideration. When doingthis, I am careful to maintain an even tone and a positive outlook, as itwouldn’t be helpful or respectful to use those cliches and criticisms or tellsomeone they have no future in an attempt to scare them into trying harder.Students listen more when spoken to positively, and I really don’t want to bethat angry guy from the old Twisted Sister video, anyway.

My task thenturns to convincing students that the learning needs to happen right now sothese doors can stay open for later. A student needs to pass grade 9 to get tograde 10, and so on, right through to and beyond graduation and the widerchoice of “summer” jobs and hopefully any of the post-secondary options thatavail themselves at that point. We are all big supporters of having aneducated populace and think very highly of the concept of the full liberal artseducation, but those are abstract concepts to most students and don't usuallyhelp in these conversations. I tend to stick to more pragmatic reasoning.

The differencehigh school graduation makes to a person’s life chances, even at the minimumrequirements, is staggering and worth every amount of effort it takes tosupport. Graduation is evidence of the willingness to learn and to carrythrough with a responsibility. It means mastery of some basic skills, someconfidence, and a small measure of marketability. High school graduation is thefirst level of education where we can see a substantial increase inopportunity, and it is the gateway to the vast majority of education levels andpotential career options that follow. Getting our students graduatedremains the key element in every conversation and every final decision we makeat our secondary school.

We also push toexpand students’ options with more total course credits, more robust courses,and higher levels of achievement within those courses. Higher achievement, ofcourse, means more choices, and motivated students will often tell me whatlevel of achievement they need in order to “get” to get into the program theywant.

Still, all thislogic still requires the willingness in students to engage in delay ofgratification. They must do things right now that they sometimes don’tenjoy, so they can have the things they want later, that they hopefullywill enjoy, and as much as everyone is able to understand that concept, noteveryone is able to do what it takes in the meantime.

Many of theflexible programs we have built were started out of necessity as opposed toinspiration. As a small school with declining enrollment we needed to providestudents with timetable choices that we could not offer using only traditionalcourse delivery. We currently offer online courses, full courses throughlearning guides as well as partial courses so students can complete credits,and we starting to look at video-conferencing. All these are directly supportedby teacher contact time, which is essential. We allow students to take coursesout of their natural order, if there is a clear benefit, and we often havemiddle school students take high school courses as an enrichment opportunity.In fact, last year our top grade 10 English student was actually in grade 8!The flexible programs we have built to provide opportunities have been embracedby the students, and have absolutely helped them move forward and graduate fromour school. We are also farther along the continuum for Personalized Learningthan many places and though the flexible program options started mostly as asurvival tactic, I can see many of the benefits in regard to engagement, and Iam on board as a result.

The next step inPersonalized Learning, beyond offering more choice and opportunity forstudents, is the steady progression in our classrooms in regard to ourinstructional methodology. Beyond simply doing more projects, teachers andstudents will need to have greater understanding of course outcomes, moreflexibility to co-construct their learning, and more encouragement to share inthe assessment processes. These are concepts we already see in great classrooms,but the hope is that there will be a shift from some, to most, and theneventually to all of our learning environments, and with that, a higher levelof engagement for all of our students. I see Personalized Learning as a bridgebetween the right now of learning, and the later of education. Wewill be where we need to be when we no longer have to rely on will happen laterto motivate our students, because the excitement of learning right nowis more than enough to keep them going.

The Upside of Being “Out There”

2011-11-29T12:15:00.001-08:00

Greetingstudents in the morning in the bus lane and on the front steps is a great wayto help make a school more welcoming. My awesome vice-principal and I like totouch base with anyone we are worried about, remind students to get forms in,ask about a recent event, and just say hello and stay connected to what isgoing on in the building and the community. Parents will notice us and comeover to chat. The staff knows where to find us, and it gives them a chance toask a question or let us know what is going on in their classroom. Being out inthe halls during class change, at lunch, and after school, as well as being inand out of classrooms gives us even more opportunities for face time with kidsand colleagues alike. I think its also pretty safe to say that students are moreprone to respectful behaviour when they know we are around, and though thebetter tests of character certainly occur when we are not there, our presencemakes for good practice for some kids at the very least, and improves the toneof the building for everybody.

Ithink the best reason to be out and about during the higher traffic times isthat it can remind us why we are in education. We are here to make a differencefor kids and I am sure that it does matter to them when an adult makes theeffort to say hello when they pass by. An effective school needs to be acommunity first, and a healthy social connection leads to better learning.

The BC public school system is currently engaged in ateacher job action, and with staff not attending meetings, handling memos, ordoing supervision, there has been a giant shift in principals’ responsibilitiesaway from planning and meeting towards supervision and informationdistribution. The practice of being visible and greeting students is somethingour principal team has valued for some time, but the job action has probablydoubled the responsibility and the opportunity to engage in thispractice. In addition to just trying to make the most of a challengingsituation, there is nothing like saying “Good Morning” to dozens of students tocheer us up and put us in a more positive frame of mind.

Things That Don't Add Up, But in a Good Way

2011-11-27T08:45:00.001-08:00

"Noteverything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be countedcounts." (Sign hanging in Einstein's office at Princeton)

I like my data, noquestion. Anytime a new set comes out on BC K-12 Reporting I can happily spenda couple hours cruising around looking at what everybody did, then making achart or updating one I’ve already made. Learning, results, and achievementshould be at the forefront for any principal, especially at a lower SES school,and I am sure that having an idea where you are is crucial to improving the wayyou support learning in your building. The teachers are quick to razz me aboutmy data (students too), as you can imagine, but the charts sure do go over alot better when they trend upwards.

That being said,there are a lot of things about our school that I value that cannot bemeasured, and in the interest of balance, I would like to share this list.

School Sports – I love the energy and comradery that extra-curricularactivities like volleyball bring to a school. This was a big part of my ownschool experience, and I believe the lessons that can be taught regardingteamwork, fair play, and commitment make these programs worth the effort. Likeothers, I do lament the overall downturn in sports participation over the lasttwenty years.

Lunchtime Floor Hockey – Two days a week our teachers face off againststudents in the school gym in an ongoing rivalry. This is a great work out(especially for the teachers) and certainly builds school culture and teacher-studentrelationships that carry over into our classrooms.

The Play’s the Thing – Our drama program is pretty modest, but it surefills a niche for the kind of student that doesn’t like sports. It has asimilar effect on culture and teaches many of the same lessons, too.

Guitar for Everybody – We were very fortunate to receive grant money afew years ago to purchase contemporary music equipment. All of our middleschool students now learn the basics in their exploratory and I am stillhopeful that this will eventually evolve into a School of Rock type ofperformance.

Locker Murals – After our renovation, the district painter came aroundand did the main halls and classrooms, which was great, but the lockers thenlooked dreadful in comparison. Our art teacher has taken this on as a project,and his senior class has completed a bank in each of the last three semesters.They look fantastic and I would highly recommend doing this in your school.(Tip: Get permission from the union first.)

Leadership Class – Hands down, adding this course as an option was thebest change to the Graduation Program that I can imagine. What may start as a"soft" four credits for some, quickly turns into a great excuse togive service and develop the kind of skills that will matter in this century.Our students help with assemblies, set up for major events, organize dances andfun activities for the middle school students, and help support countlessactivities around the community. I cannot imagine what school would be likewithout all of the great work that they do, not to mention the positive publicrelations effect this program has had for teenagers in general.

The Environmental Program – After securing another grant, we haverebuilt our school greenhouse, built garden boxes for community use, andfinished a caged composting center. Every middle school student nowparticipates in a six-week exploratory class that not only teachesenvironmental awareness, but also has the students actually collect, weigh, andsort the school’s garbage daily. Recycling and composting has diverted much ofour refuse away from the landfill, and the custodian now uses only 10 blackgarbage bags a day, down from 45, and the collected garbage usually fills lessthan 2 full bags, down from 10 bags. In addition to giving out cloth shoppingbags and phasing out plastic cutlery, turning off lights and closing unusedareas has dropped school power consumption from 1800 kw/h of power per day toless than 1400 kw/h per day!

That last partlooks like more data. Well, I tried.

Exams: I Say We Keep 'Em

2011-11-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

When the BritishColumbia Ministry of Education first rolled out the 2004 Graduation Program, Iwas a brand new vice-principal and I instantly took a dislike to the array ofnew exam requirements. I still saw the world then, in many ways, like ateacher. I assumed that everything going on in other classes was as it shouldbe, that the outcomes were being taught and learned, and that all students werereceiving more or less the same opportunity to be successful. I hadn’t seenmany exam results at that point, nor had I an idea of the broad range of thingsthat could be happening or not happening in our classrooms or in classroomsaround the province. I also wasn’t too aware at that time the impactinstruction really had on student learning. The hassle (like moving desks!) andexpense of the new program seemed unnecessary. I also wondered what the pointof exams really was for those students who struggled with their learning. Isn’tthis just going to make them feel bad? Aren’t these new hurdles going toget in the way of their graduating?

The shift towardsbeing student-centered was still in its earlier phases back then, too. I thinkit was much more common to place the emphasis back on the student when theywere not successful, as in, “Hey, I taught that lesson. What were theydoing?” Reflecting on student learning and revising a lesson to meetstudents’ needs was not quite so common. You might be thinking, “Hey, I was toodoing that.” Good for you if you were. Most weren’t.

Furthermore, the1996 Program had shown us that exams were not for everybody. The keeners wrotethe bulk of the exams, but they were, well, keen. Students had to write English12 or Communications 12 and that was it. Even though teachers and principalssurely did their best to hold the line on course outcomes and expectations,students could still graduate in BC with very little concrete evidence oflearning in their core subjects. There weren’t many rubrics on the Internet ordistrict sessions around building common expectations at that time. Was my Athe same as your A? My C? My pass? How would we know? I rememberhearing some stories about students who went all the way through high schoolthinking they had an affinity for some area of learning before scoring poorlyon a grade 12 exam, but by the time they found out they were already registeredin a university or college program only to struggle, an expensive lessonlearned too late.

When the 2004Program first began, certainly there was cringing when the first few sets ofexam results came back. There were probably some uncomfortable conversations.It was stressful. This stress was in no doubt exacerbated by the fact there wasno “out” on this process. School results were no longer just about our keeners.Unless a student's IEP was in the “low incidence” category, they were going tobe writing. This encouraged a big shift in emphasis away from focusing what ourtop tier of students could do toward getting all of our learners,especially the struggling ones, to a point where they could pass. This meantcontinuous effort from adults and students, new interventions, and newstrategies to get them over the hump. Instead of moving struggling studentsaround all of the obstacles, we needed to help them navigate their waythough. Students have to pass the exam courses, along with all of theother mandatory courses, and though they do not have to pass the exams to makeit through school, it sure helps if they do. Further to that, district andschool results now appear on the K-12 Reporting Website for the public to seeand scrutinize if they wish, not to mention those people who publishtheir annual Report Card. The impact of exams courses on student transitionsand graduation encourage us make sure that the exam courses are taughteffectively, and that the courses leading to them are as well. It sometimesmeans choosing instructors carefully, even basing the decision on effectivenessinstead of teacher preference or seniority. Strong veterans are often movedfrom their “elite” grade twelve classes to grade ten classes that haveheterogeneous mix of students. Exam teachers have had to ramp up their ownknowledge of course curriculum and teaching strategies and make sure thestudents actually learn the outcomes. All these issues may have led to thenew program being unpopular with some teachers, and certainly with theteacher’s union; however, this change has undeniably made us do a better job ofteaching ALL of our kids.

The time taken upwith actual test writing, though a common complaint, is also minimal in thisjurisdiction. If you include the FSAs, the total Ministry standardized testingprogram takes six and a half days of instructional time, or less than a thirdof one percent of total instructional time over twelve years, less if youinclude kindergarten. Averaged out, all of it adds up to less than a minute perday, barely one trip to the water fountain. When it is all well in therear view mirror, we get some data to examine how well we were managing thelearning, especially if we make use of the Ministry’s more recent item analysiswebsite which shows our results, outcome by outcome.

I am convincedthat the current exam program is BC is right-minded (no pun intended) even ifit does have flaws, and there are plenty of flaws. Test biases andvalidity in any standardized exam are just a starting point. Most can alsoagree our math exams are much too difficult. The sheer number of testedoutcomes prevents teachers from providing the necessary contact time studentsneed to process the upper level content in the Foundations stream. TheWorkplace stream is appropriate for some students, but still too difficult forour struggling learners, and without the soft landing that the Essentialsstream provided, the failure rate has been crippling. While I do like theEnglish and Communication exams, the Science 10 and Socials 11 courses alsohave too many outcomes, and the exams force teachers to plow through material,and again, students do not get the contact time to engage in the kinds ofdeeper learning that we should value in the school system. With too muchrushing and not enough learning, these three courses are great examples of the“knowing-doing gap”. If we know that Assessment for Learning works, why do setup these courses to discourage the use of these excellent strategies? We mayalso make a case for lost enthusiasm, as long-time teachers often lament havinghad to cut sections that they are passionate about so they can merely “cover”the material for the upcoming tests. Furthermore, tests don’t seem consistentyear to year, or sometimes even from semester to semester, which makes itharder to use them to assess our own classroom practices. Are they gettingharder? If this was intentional on the part of the Ministry, it wouldn’t hurtto let us know so staff and students are not so discouraged. Still, I do notbelieve that these problems, as compelling as they may be, should cause us toabandon the current exam program, because they are very fixable.

The rollout of theMinistry's new Education Plan brings the perfect opportunity to trim outcomesfrom the overloaded areas, and provide the needed “whitespace” to allow for thekind slower, deeper learning that actually sticks. [Surely this was amoment of pure kismet, but I just saw the letter from Rod Allen invitingcandidates to help design a curriculum with “less content and more attention tohigh level thinking.” Fantastic!] The Math 10, Science 10, and Socials 11exams could be shortened, and perhaps made more flexible to allow students toshow their learning in different areas of focus in the course curricula. Dostudents need to cover geometry and pre-calculus, or would they be better offlearning just one of those two really well? A move to a less prescriptive butmore skill-based problem-solving approach would be healthier, as would a moreconsistent set of assessment standards. Like many others in the secondarysystem, I am hopeful these changes will occur when the next set of revisionscome out.

All that beingsaid, it is important that the exams, preferably updated, remain an integralpart of the system. The 2004 Graduation Program already allows for asignificant choice and personalization, and only twenty credits out of theeighty or more a student must complete come with an exam requirement. Somecourses provide a great deal of rigor (I’m using the word rigor!) and someprovide very little, and the amount of required learning students varieswildly. As we move towards an even more flexible and personalized educationsystem that promotes inspiration, communication, teamwork, and interpersonalskills, all of which are difficult to quantify, it is comforting to note thatthe core subject areas will stay center stage, and the exams will help providethe foundation we need in order to comfortably grow the flexibility in thesystem.

So, I say let’s keep ‘em.