April 2012

Kappan SUPPLEMENT TO

Phi Delta

®

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION GUIDE

for the April 2012 issue

By Lois Brown Easton

RTI Builds on the best-selling Pyramid Response to Intervention Austin Buffum

Janet Malone

2012 Institutes June 25–27

Sacramento, CA

July 30–August 1

Seattle, WA

October 1–3

Boston, MA

November 14–16

Mike Mattos

Dallas, TX

Chris Weber

The presenters will help you create an efficient process to identify students who need help, place them in the proper intervention, monitor their progress, revise their program if needed, and return them to their regular program once the interventions have worked.

Included with your registration

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800.733.6786

Register today!

What does successful response to intervention (RTI) look like when all the pieces come together?

At its core, RTI is a research-based process that helps you make sure that every student is set up for success. With unprecedented access to nationally recognized experts who have implemented research-based strategies in a variety of settings—often with limited personnel and dwindling resources—this institute will show you how to get classroom instruction right the first time so that intensive interventions aren’t necessary later. With a drill-down breakout approach

Learning Outcomes • Build a highly effective core program grounded in essential skills students need. • Link universal screening to the identification of essential learning targets. • Connect behavior support with academic support. • Design, analyze, and respond to common assessments. • Target interventions to meet individual student needs. • Understand the critical components and implementation of a behavioral RTI system. • Learn multiple ways to create weekly collaboration time. And more!

full of hands-on activities and through interactive and highly engaging keynotes, you’ll explore how to build a timely, targeted, and systematic intervention program by looking at the four essential elements of a successful RTI model: collective responsibility, concentrated instruction, convergent assessment, and certain access.

Simplifying Response to Intervention Four Essential Guiding Principles By Austin Buffum, Mike Mattos, and Chris Weber

Pyramid Response to Intervention Four Essential Guiding Principles

Featuring Austin Buffum, Mike Mattos, and Chris Weber Four 20-minute programs on 4 DVDs; 88-page Facilitator’s Guide (in print and on CD)

Contents 5 Guide to Evaluating teacher evaluation Khym G. Goslin Phi Delta Kappan, 93 (7), 42-45 7 Guide to Walk, don’t run — to online learning Wayne Journell Phi Delta Kappan, 93 (7), 46-50 10 Guide to Make or buy? That’s really not the question Donald J. Peurach, Joshua L. Glazer, and Sarah Winchell Lenhoff Phi Delta Kappan, 93 (7), 51-55 12 Guide to R&D: Prepare students to be citizens Meira Levinson Phi Delta Kappan, 93 (7), 66-69 14

Applications

Using this guide This discussion guide is intended to assist Kappan readers who want to use articles in staff meetings or university classroom discussions. Members of Phi Delta Kappa have permission to make copies of the enclosed activities for use in staff meetings, professional development activities, or university classroom discussions. Please ensure that Phi Delta Kappa and Kappan magazine are credited with this material. All publications and cartoons in Kappan are copyrighted by PDK International, Inc. and/or by the authors. Multiple copies may not be made without permission. Send permission requests to [email protected]. Copyright Phi Delta Kappa, 2012. All rights reserved.

Is modeling enough? By Khym G. Goslin Phi Delta Kappan, 93, (7), 42-45

OVERVIEW OF THE ARTICLE Principals as symbolic leaders who want to inspire transformative change need to model desired behaviors, explicitly communicate the values or beliefs behind the behaviors, consider six elements of communication in terms of their message, and reflect, envision, and articulate this process.

KEY POINTS • Modeling is a form of one-way communication. • If principals and others who are symbolic leaders want to inspire change, they must not only model the desired change but also communicate in a variety of ways the values and beliefs behind the change. • Modeling and explicit communication about what is modeled and why ensures that the message is brought into another’s consciousness and consideration. • Six elements of communication can guide the symbolic leader in terms of the communication that accompanies the modeling: “the people involved, the type of message used, the channels used, the interference that distracts or distorts the message, the feedback provided to the messenger, and the context within which the message occurs” (Simonds & Cooper, 2011). • School leaders who want to make a difference need to reflect on their own behaviors and ask themselves how congruent they are to the changes they want to see; envision the change they want, based on strong beliefs; model behavior that advances the vision; and articulate or communicate verbally the values and beliefs behind the modeled behavior and the vision of change. • Even by this enhanced model, not everyone can be influenced to make change.

FULL VALUE Thomas Sergiovanni identifies five leadership forces: 1. Technical: Derived from sound management techniques 2. Human: Derived from harnessing available social and interpersonal resources 3. Educational: Derived from expert knowledge about matters of education and schooling 4. Symbolic: Derived from focusing the attention of others on matters of importance to the school 5. Cultural: Derived from building a unique school culture (1984, p. 7). Sergiovanni describes the symbolic leader as one who “assumes the role of ‘chief ‘ and, by emphasizing selective attention — the modeling of important goals and behaviors — signals to others what is of importance and value: touring the school; visiting classrooms; seeking out and visibly spending time with students; downplaying management concerns in favor of educational ones; presiding over ceremonies, rituals, and other important occasions; and providing a unified vision of the school through proper use of works and actions are examples of leader activities associated with this fourth force” (1984, p. 9).

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DEEPEN YOUR THINKING Choose one or more of these individual inquiry topics for thinking and writing. 1. Who are the symbolic leaders in your organization? How well do they achieve the characteristics Sergiovanni and the author delineate for such leaders? 2. What changes are being implemented in your educational organization? 3. To what extent are leaders modeling the changes they want to effect? 4. What values or beliefs seem to be fundamental to the modeling? 5. To what extent do the leaders involved in change make their modeling — and the beliefs and values that underlie it — explicit through communication? 6. How well have the leaders of this change analyzed the needs of the people involved? The type of message they’ll use? The medium they’ll use for communicating? Possible “interference that distracts or distorts the message” and the context of the message itself? (Simonds & Cooper, 2011). 7. How are reflecting, envisioning, and articulating important processes for change leaders to go through?

EXTEND YOUR THOUGHTS THROUGH ACTIVITIES FOR GROUP DISCUSSION Working with colleagues, list changes that school principals (perhaps one of you) might want to make in their schools. Use the template below (transferred to a large piece of chart paper) to think about the role of modeling and communicating desired behaviors related to the change. Use the example as a starting point for your discussion.

Change wanted The principal models desired behavior.

Values and beliefs related to this change Walking the talk no matter what the issue is; honesty in relationships.

Desired behaviors

What and how to model

The principal examines Whatever the issue is, current behaviors; the principal models compares them to the it. Example: being on change envisioned; time to meetings. models the change; and articulates it to colleagues.

What and how to communicate to others The principal makes a point of saying that he/she values walking the talk because it inspires honesty in relationships and announces the intention to do whatever he/she requires of others.

References Sergiovanni, T.J. (1984, February). Leadership excellence in schools: Excellent schools need freedom within boundaries. Educational Leadership, 41 (5), 4-13. Simonds, C.J. & Cooper, P.J. (2011). Communication for the classroom teacher (9th ed.). Toronto, Ontario: Pearson.

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April 2012

Walk, don’t run — to online learning By Wayne Journell Phi Delta Kappan, 93 (7), 46-50

OVERVIEW OF THE ARTICLE Online courses for K-12 students are gaining popularity, partially in response to economic conditions, but they must be carefully designed to counter both student and teacher misperceptions about online learning and prepare them to use the medium optimally if it’s to be comparable to face-to-face instruction. KEY POINTS • The benefits of online learning include cost efficiency (especially in the long term), service to homebound students and others who can’t participate in traditional education environments, and “curricular democratization.” • However, educators should proceed cautiously in terms of adopting online instruction. • There is little research about the effect of online instruction in K-12 settings and considerable misperception about how “quick and painless” it is in comparison to traditional instruction, affecting teachers’ views of the types of students who take online courses in place of traditional face-to-face courses. • Also, teachers can’t simply transfer their traditional teaching skills to online courses and need professional development opportunities to create optimum (rigorous, relevant, and engaging) learning experiences online. • Students need to learn what they’ll need to succeed in online courses, including considerable intrinsic motivation. Online learning is not for everyone. • Issues such as inequities in terms of technology will also need to be resolved in order to make online learning accessible to all.

FULL VALUE In Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2009-10, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported the following data about K-12 public school district enrollment in distance education courses, which they define as “courses offered to elementary and secondary school students regularly enrolled in the district that meet all of the following criteria: (1) credit granting; (2) technology delivered; and (3) have the instructor in a different location than the students and/or have course content developed in, or delivered from, a different location than that of the students” (Queen & Lewis, 2011, p. 1). The NCES statistics don’t consider students who are homeschooled or in private, parochial, or independent schools. The findings are based on “self-reported data from public school districts for the 12-month 2009-10 school year” (Queen & Lewis, 2011, p. 3). • “Fifty-five percent of public school districts reported having students enrolled in distance education courses in 2009–10. Among those districts, 96% reported having students enrolled in distance education courses at the high school level, 19% at the middle or junior high school level, 6% at the elementary school level, and 4% in combined or ungraded schools” (p. 3). • “Districts reported an estimated 1.8 million enrollments in distance education courses for 2009-10. Seventy-four percent of the distance education enrollments were in high schools, 9% were in middle or junior high schools, and 4% were in elementary schools” (p. 3). • “Eighty-seven percent of districts reported tracking all distance education courses that students completed with a passing grade, 79% reported tracking all distance education courses that students completed with a failing grade, and 65% reported tracking all distance education courses where students withdrew prior to completing the course” (p. 3).

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DEEPEN YOUR THINKING Choose one or more of these individual inquiry topics for thinking and writing. 1. Have you ever taken an online course? How would you describe the experience and your learning? 2. Are online courses offered in your district (or a district you know well)? 3. Why are online courses being offered in your district (or a district you know well)? 4. How well do online courses work for students? What are the benefits of online courses? 5. What perceptions do students, teachers, parents, and others have about online learning? To what extent are these misperceptions? 6. How are students and teachers prepared for online courses? 7. What do you think about the possibility of requiring students to take at least one online course to graduate from high school? 8. To what extent are online courses equivalent to face-to-face courses in terms of rigor, relevancy, and opportunities for engagement? 9. Do you believe your district (or a district you know well) should expand the online course program? Why or why not? EXTEND YOUR THOUGHTS THROUGH ACTIVITIES FOR GROUP DISCUSSION Work with colleagues to assess how well online courses work (or would work) in your environment. Using the first table (which you might transfer to a large piece of chart paper so your entire group can see what you’re creating), consider what students need to be successful in online learning. The behaviors are from Digital Bridges: K-12 Online Instruction for Teaching and Learning (www.netc.org/ digitalbridges/online/essentials/).

Student behaviors needed for successful online learning

How well our students exemplify these abilities (scale of 1-5, with 1 low and 5 high)

Develop self-discipline and independence in time management. Have the intrinsic motivation to succeed in their coursework. Confront technical problems on their own.

Develop sufficient technical skills to fully engage in the course. Overcome academic and technical anxiety.

Other (a behavior you think is important):

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April 2012

What we can do to help students achieve these behaviors

Possible online courses we could offer successfully

Now, consider the qualities of good online courses (as presented by Digital Bridges):

Quality

Degree to which our online courses exemplify this quality

Evidence

Reading material that is interesting and engaging over a range of ability levels.

A variety of ways for students to interact with and learn the course content.

A variety of open channels and modes for self-expression and communication with other students and the teacher. Guidelines and criteria for conducting fruitful Internet research.

Opportunities for obtaining special assistance from teachers, technical staff, or counselors. Other (a quality you think is important):

What conclusions can you come to regarding online learning in your environment? References Queen, B. & Lewis, L. (2011). Distance education courses for public elementary and secondary school students: 2009-10 (NCES 2012-008). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2012/2012008.pdf.

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Make or buy? That’s really not the question By Donald J. Peurach, Joshua L. Glazer, and Sarah Winchell Lenhoff Phi Delta Kappan, 93 (7), 51-55

OVERVIEW OF THE ARTICLE School improvement is not contingent on either “homegrown” efforts or the dictums of outside providers; instead, school improvement can benefit by collaboration between schools and outside providers that provides flexibility to schools, links them to outside resources, and networks them to other schools. KEY POINTS • Neither local knowledge brought to bear on local problems nor contracting for outside support for school improvement leads consistently to lasting and successful change. • “Either/or” is a false dichotomy; school improvement depends on both outside resources and capabilities as well as local ownership and initiative. • The resolution of the dichotomy occurs when schools collaborate with each other, their own and other districts, and with external providers for “ongoing, experiential learning.” • Schools, districts, and external providers work together so that schools “develop capabilities for effective, adaptive use of program resources” and external providers learn “from local use to continuously improve those resources.” • Selecting learning partners is tricky but can be accomplished if these questions can be answered satisfactorily: º Is the enterprise structured as a network? º Does the enterprise feature designs for practice in schools? º Are designs for practice formalized? º Are the designs for practice supported with professional learning opportunities? º Are professional learning opportunities developmentally sequenced? º Does the external provider have capabilities for collaborative, experiential learning? FULL VALUE The author cites the Comprehensive School Reform Program (CSR) as the beginning of a “buy” option in the early 1990s, resurrected in 2008 as “one of the four federally supported strategies for improving underperforming schools” (Duncan, 2009). Originally, “the focus of the CSR Program [was] to raise student achievement by employing proven methods and strategies to produce comprehensive school reform. CSR builds on and leverages ongoing state and local efforts to connect higher standards and school improvement. This program helps expand the quality and quantity of schoolwide reform efforts that enable all children, particularly lowachieving children, to meet challenging academic standards” (Comprehensive School Reform Program, 2004). It worked by having “states provide competitive grants to school districts on behalf of specific schools that have indicated a readiness to adopt comprehensive reforms to help students reach high standards.” Schools were given a list and description of comprehensive reform programs “based upon scientifically based research and effective practices.” Although they could develop a program locally, they had to “coherently integrate . . . 11 components of reform” in order to obtain federal funding through their state. There were 33 models to chose from (Borman, 2002, p. 10); among the best-known were these: Accelerated Schools (Levin), Atlas Communities (Coalition of Essential Schools), Audrey Cohen College System of Education, Center for Effective Schools (Lezotte), Coalition of Essential Schools (Sizer), Core Knowledge (Hirsch), Direct Instruction (Engelmann), Edison Schools (Whittle), Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound, High/Scope Primary Grades Approach to Education, Integrated Thematic Instruction (Kovalik), Modern Red Schoolhouse, Montessori, Paideia (Adler), Roots & Wings (Slavin), School Development Program (Comer), Success for All (Slavin). 10


April 2012

DEEPEN YOUR THINKING Choose one or more of these individual inquiry topics for thinking and writing. 1. Have you ever been involved in school improvement? In what capacity? What was the focus? 2. Would you consider the effort you were part of (or another effort you know about) a “make” (local) or “buy” (contracted from outside) approach? Why? What were the results? 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a locally owned strategy for improving schools? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a contracted service for improving schools? 4. What is to be gained by combining the two approaches? What might be lost? 5. Are you part of a network that focuses on school improvement? How does participation in a network help with school improvement? 6. What designs for practice (guidance for the day-to-day work of teachers and leaders) operate in your school or district (or one you know well)? How are they formalized? What professional learning opportunities are offered regarding them? 7. How successful do you think collaboration between outside providers and other schools and districts would be for schools you know? EXTEND YOUR THOUGHTS THROUGH ACTIVITIES FOR GROUP DISCUSSION With colleagues, use a SWOT protocol to analyze school reform initiatives according to the authors’ ideas. Divide your group into two smaller groups and put the following diagram on a large piece of chart paper where all can see it: Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

While the second group listens, have the first group consider this question according to the four squares: What are the SWOT characteristics related generally to collaboration with other schools and districts and one or more outside provider to improve schools? Strengths and weakness are usually considered from within the organization(s) — the schools, districts, and the providers themselves. Opportunities and threats are usually considered from outside the organization (local, state, regional, national, and global issues). A member of the first group should record what the first group says within the four squares. Once the first group has finished, have the group switch roles, with the first group listening and the second group talking. The second group should build on what the first group has said and also get more specific by asking: What are SWOT characteristics related to collaboration between [name of school], other schools, [our district] and other districts and one or more outside providers regarding [the improvement that is needed]? An example of this question might be: ”What are the SWOT characteristics related to collaboration between Murphy Elementary School, other schools, Washington School District, other districts, and one or more outside providers regarding improving reading achievement?” A member of the second group should record what the second group says within the four squares, perhaps using a different colored marker so the two groups’ work can be distinguished. The second group may build upon what the first group noted generally but may also add ideas. After the second group has finished the SWOT work, both groups should discuss the advantages and disadvantages of collaborating for school improvement. References Borman, G.D., Hewes, G.M., Overman, L.T., & Brown, S. (2002, November). Comprehensive school reform and student achievement: A meta-analysis. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins, Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At Risk. www.csos.jhu.edu/CRESPAR/TechReports/ Report59.pdf. Comprehensive School Reform Program (CSR). (2004). www2.ed.gov/programs/compreform/2pager.html Duncan, A. (2009). Turning around the bottom 5%: Secretary Arne Duncan’s remarks at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools Conference. http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/turning-around-bottom-five-percent kappanmagazine.org

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R&D: Prepare students to be citizens By Meira Levinson Phi Delta Kappan, 93 (7), 66-69

OVERVIEW OF THE ARTICLE The “civic empowerment gap” begins in K-12 schools where civic education which, if taught, is usually taught in a dry and static way; this must change for reasons of civic equality and participation of all in strengthening democracy; action civics is one solution. KEY POINTS • A civic empowerment gap that can be found among adults as well as students, exists because many students, particularly from low-income families and of color, get little civic education. • There is evidence that civics education makes a difference on students’ learning, especially if it includes engaged civic action. • Students’ civic education requires “contextual flexibility and variation” and dynamism so that students see how democratic participation works in their own environments. • Democracy is weakened when some citizens don’t know how to exercise their rights and responsibilities — or don’t believe that doing so will make any difference. • “Old-school civics” isn’t the answer; “action civics” is because it engages students in a cycle of research, action, and reflection regarding issues important to them. • Engaging all students in civics education conveys respect for them and their abilities to improve their world. FULL VALUE The author referenced the National Action Civics Collaborative, which “was founded in 2010 by six community-, school- and university-based organizations concerned about how low-income youth are acquiring the motivation, skills, knowledge, and behaviors necessary for constructive civic and political participation.” Its goals are to: • “Promote and expand the practice of action civics within the education reform movement as well as the civic education movement regionally and nationally; • Demonstrate the effectiveness of action civics in increasing civic knowledge, skills, and motivation, thereby decreasing the civic engagement gap; and  • Collaborate across member organizations to strengthen, refine, fund, and grow our work” (Center for Action Civics, www. centerforactioncivics.org). The National Action Civics Collaborative defines action civics as a process in which: • “Youth voice is encouraged, valued, and incorporated to the fullest extent possible;  • Experiences, knowledge, perspectives and concerns of youth are incorporated to the fullest extent possible;  • Students learn by doing, with a focus on collective action; and • Student reflection and analysis are central to the process” (Center for Action Civics, www.centerforactioncivics.org). The Center is working on fitting the action civics curriculum with the Common Core State Standards and is creating “assessment rubrics that emphasize the application of knowledge rather than relying solely on standardized testing of content.” In addition to offering curricula and materials, the Center offers training and technical assistance, professional development opportunities, a network of educators engaged in action civics, an online library, and various types of support. Participating high schools in 2011-12 are largely in and around Chicago. 12


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DEEPEN YOUR THINKING Choose one or more of these individual inquiry topics for thinking and writing. 1. What are your experiences — as a student or adult — with what is conventionally known as civics? 2. To what extent have you participated in government at the local, state, or national level? 3. How is civics taught at schools in your district (or a district you know well)? 4. Do you believe that participation in politics is increasing or decreasing? Do you believe that young people are going to be involved in politics? Why or why not? 5. What does respect have to do with participation in government at any level? How can engagement in civics help youth become respected and respect themselves? 6. In what kind of “engaged civic action” could students in your community participate? Why does civic action need to be location- and context-specific? 7. What might result if young people disengaged from the political process? 8. How can civics help students “rethink what is ‘normal’ or acceptable about both the lives they lead and the changes they desire”? EXTEND YOUR THOUGHTS THROUGH ACTIVITIES FOR GROUP DISCUSSION Work with colleagues to consider these quotes from young people (Cushman, 2003). How could civics education, particularly action civics, help students deal with the issues they raise?

I’m not adult enough to get a job and have my own apartment, but I’m adult enough to make decisions on my own, know right from wrong, have ideas about the world. That’s why it’s hard to be a teenager— it’s like a middle stage. — Vince

Advice to teachers: Get to know their neighborhood— see if students are having a hard time. — Porsche

Try to engage students if they’re bored. — Mika

I felt like school was keeping me from learning. — Hilary

Students don’t want only the principals and teachers to be in control, they want the students to be more involved. — Andres

Sometimes we know what other people don’t know, and we can explain to them. — Javier You just had it memorized, you really didn’t learn it. — Diana

References Cushman, K. (2003). Fires in the bathroom: Advice for teachers from high school students. New York, NY: W.W. Norton. kappanmagazine.org

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Applications This Professional Development Guide was created with the characteristics of adult learners in mind (Tallerico, 2005): • Active engagement

• Relevance to current challenges

• Integration of experience

• Learning style variation

• Choice and self-direction As you think about sharing this article with other adults, how could you fulfill the adult learning needs above? This Professional Development Guide was created so that readers could apply what they have learned to work in classrooms (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001): • Identifying Similarities and Differences

• Summarizing and Note-Taking

• Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition

• Homework and Practice

• Nonlinguistic Representations

• Cooperative Learning

• Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback

• Generating and Testing Hypotheses

• Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers As you think about sharing this article with classroom teachers, how could you use these strategies with them? References

Marzano, R.J., Pickering, D., & Pollock, J.E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Tallerico, M. (2005). Supporting and sustaining teachers’ professional development: A principal’s guide (pp. 54-63). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

About the Author Lois Brown Easton is a consultant, coach, and author with a particular interest in learning designs — for adults and for students. She retired as director of professional development at Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center, Estes Park, Colo. From 1992 to 1994, she was director of Re:Learning Systems at the Education Commission of the States (ECS). Re:Learning was a partnership between the Coalition of Essential Schools and ECS. Before that, she served in the Arizona Department of Education in a variety of positions: English/ language arts coordinator, director of curriculum and instruction, and director of curriculum and assessment planning. A middle school English teacher for 15 years, Easton earned her Ph.D. at the University of Arizona. Easton has been a frequent presenter at conferences and a contributor to educational journals. She was editor and contributor to Powerful Designs for Professional Learning (NSDC, 2004 & 2008). Her other books include: • The Other Side of Curriculum: Lessons From Learners (Heinemann, 2002); • Engaging the Disengaged: How Schools Can Help Struggling Students Succeed in (Corwin, 2008); • Protocols for Professional Learning (ASCD, 2009); and • Professional Learning Communities by Design: Putting the Learning Back Into PLCs (Learning Forward and Corwin, 2011). Easton lives and works in Arizona. E-mail her at [email protected]. 14


April 2012

THE PLC JOURNEY

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Want to measure what impact your ongoing PLC efforts are having? PLC at Work™ Progress Report Assess your school’s growth and development on the PLC journey. This report provides an unbiased observation of your current practices and outlines next action steps. An expert Facilitation Team will come to your school to assist in the analysis of current practices and identification of improvement strategies. These teams—each member carefully selected based on his or her specific expertise— will present their findings through an on-site meeting along with convenient conference calls.

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Learning Outcomes • Recognize the key elements of central office leadership that have a positive impact on student and adult learning and how to apply those elements in your district. • Identify the key elements of principal leadership that have a positive impact on student and adult learning and how to apply those elements in your school. • Learn how to apply the professional learning community process to create a culture that fosters student and adult learning and promotes teacher leadership. And more!