The main focus of this chapter is intervention.
Here are a few questions from the study guide...
1. Effectively responding to students who experience difficulty in their learning
requires a systematic process of intervention—a collective response—rather than
relying on the actions of individual teachers (see page 97). If you were asked by
the Parent Teacher Association to deliver an address on the topic of “Helping All
Students Learn,” how would you describe your school’s “systematic” plan of
intervention to provide students with additional time and support when they
struggle with their learning? Do you think all teachers in your school would
provide a similar description? Is your school’s plan for providing students with
additional time, support or enrichment in writing? What would be the advantages
of developing a written plan that is widely distributed?
2. React to the following statement by Cole and Schlechty (1993, p. 10): “In the
factory model of schooling, quality was the variable; time was constant. Students
were given a set amount of work to do in a set period of time, and then graded on
the quality of what was accomplished. We held time constant and allowed quality
to vary. We must turn that on its head and hold quality constant, and allow time to
vary.” What implications does their observation have for your school?
3. The authors note that when schools have successfully created systemic
interventions to provide additional time and support for students using existing
resources, in each case it was imperative that the staff agree to modify the
schedule and assume new roles and responsibilities (see page 99). Suppose a
teacher made the following observation: “We all want to provide additional time
and support for students. It’s just that our schedule won’t allow it! We simply
cannot take any more time away from instructional time. We don’t have enough
instructional time to cover all the material we are required to cover.” How would
you respond to this teacher’s concerns?
Or...discuss your own ideas for intervention at your campus! What questions do you still have?
Changing the focus on any campus from an adult-oriented facility to a child-oriented facility is critical in meeting all student's needs. Our interventions have to be intentional and not random. I think it is very important that, as a teacher, we have an "individual education plan" for each child. When we speak of items such as this, it sounds a bit overwhelming at times, but to reallly dealve into what each child's' individual needs are, this is what really needs to take place.
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of eliminating as many zeros as possible. Meaningful grades are not punitive, but measurement-based only. When our grading system moves more towards measuring students solely on what they know in lieu of all of the other random things we measure them on, it will be much more beneficial and accurate in regards to what we are trying to achieve. Our interventions will be much more successful at that point, because grades will be more reflective of benchmarks and testing.
Deana Steeber
Hi there, fellow book studiers! I have been reading our book but not posting....not because I didn't want to but because I'm ashamed to admit that I "skimmed" the email we received after we signed up and did not read the IMPORTANT part about posting comments and questions. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteI actually took my book with me to Mexico and read out by the pool. Not the whole time, of course, but I did read some of it. Then when I got back in town I got caught up. I will be more attentive to our postings. My apologies! :)
Stephanie Mangels
Hi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteGlad you have joined! I hope you had a fabulous time in Mexico. I look forward to reading your posts. :)
Deana Steeber
Hi Deana! I look forward to meeting you! Mexico was HOT, but very relaxing....just what I needed! Are we the only two posting on here? :)
DeleteYes, we are. :) Butit will be fun to learn together. What campus are you on?
DeleteDeana
Hi fellow bloggers! I don't know if it's me not accessing the blog correctly or what but I haven't seen (or posted) many comments. I read a couple of chapters last night and thought I'd post a few comments before I head out for Sunday activities.
ReplyDeleteThere is significant discussion about setting SMART goals and how they must be related to district goals. Teachers will need to look at data, not only in the beginning in setting goals, but on an ongoing basis. This, of course, requires that teachers have time to work on this "together" in order for every person to be a part of the process. At the middle school level we are fortunate to still have teaming, so our teachers are used to working/planning together. However, the PLC process will require some new strategies. :) Many of the assessments for our core classes are already common assessments and item analyses are done many times. But without "follow up" with the information the data supplies, ie reteaching and interventions, the data is not useful.
Chapter 7 addresses some concerns voiced by teachers in one of the case studies. Teachers were worried that the results of common assessments would be used to rank them and/or used in the evaluation process. Clearly a HUGE part of PLCs will be teacher buy in and their willingness to participate completely in the process. Leaders will need to provide support, model the importance of the PLC process, and be sure teachers have time, materials, and resources to address the issues that will be discovered through the process. As "weak" areas are discovered, the key to addressing them and improving student learning is the improvement of teaching. That's where some teachers will be uncomfortable and worried about "where they rank" among other teachers of the same subject. It will be important that every teacher is a part of the improvement process...we must be sure that each one is validated for her strengths and has a voice and part in the improvements.
By the way, I started this blog and the page wouldn't let me post. So...if, for some reason, part of it posts twice, my apologies. :) Have a great week! Stephanie