Quality instruction isnt everything, its the only thing

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Quality instruction isnt everything, its the
only thing

• Paul Rosier, Executive Director WASA
• Marlis Lindbloom, Superintendent
• Greg Fancher, Assistant Superintendent ,
  Elementary Education
• Kennewick School District

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Kennewick
Kennewick
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Kennewick School District

• Enrollment 14,780
• Schools
• 13 Elementary
• 4 Middle Schools
• 3 High Schools
• 1 Voc/tech Skills Center
• Ethnic Make- up
• Anglo 73
• Hispanic 23
• Asian 2
• African-American 2

• Free and Reduced 50
• Range of FR
• 9 to 96
• Staff
• Teachers 869
• Classified 774
• Administrators 60

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Overview of the Presentation

• Background information
• The results
• A systemic approach to improving instruction
• A model for quality instruction
• Using video taped lessons to improve instruction

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Learning Communities

• What we want for our children we should also
  want for their teachers (and administrators)
  that schools should be places for learning for
  both of them, and that learning should be
  suffused with excitement, engagement, passion,
  challenge, creativity, and joy.
• Andy Hargraves

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BACKGROUND

• 1996 literacy become the district focus
• Establish the 90 reading goal for third graders
• Implemented a reading and math assessment system
• Implemented professional development for reading
  instruction
• Increase time for reading instruction
• Made literacy and later math a K-12 focus
• Received the Gates Foundation grant expanded our
  focus on instructional leadership
• External coaches Hoffman and Huge
• Harvard Institute for School Leadership (HISL)
• Instructional Conferences
• Middle and high school literacy coaches
• Math Coaches
• Extended Gates grant

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Beliefs and Practice

• Changing and improving instructional practice
• Leads to new beliefs and expectations
• Leads to new organizational structures
• Leads to collaboration and problem solving
• Leads to improved student learning and performance

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• We like to think we follow our beliefs in reality
  our beliefs follow our experiences.

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What Do We Know About Improving Teaching
Learning?

• IMPROVING INSTRUCTION 7 INTERRELATED CORE TASKS
• 1. The district creates understanding and
  urgency around improving ALL students learning
  for teachers and community, and they regularly
  report on progress.
• Data is disaggregated and transparent to
  everyone. It is also personalized. Names are
  connected to numbers.
• 2. There is a widely shared vision of what is
  good teaching which is focused on both rigor and
  the quality of student engagement.
• Either developed by the district or by the school
• 3. All adult meetings are about instruction and
  are models of good teaching.

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What Do We Know About Improving Teaching
Learning? Cont.

• 4. The curriculum is coherent and
  focused--beginning with literacy. There is a
  widely shared understanding of the essential
  literacy skills for the knowledge economy.
• 5. Supervision is frequent, rigorous, and
  entirely focused on the improvement of
  instruction. It is done by people who know what
  good teaching looks like.
• 6. There are teacher leaders or peer coaches who
  work in each building to model outstanding
  teaching and to work intensively with small
  groups of teachers over time
• 7. Data is used diagnostically at frequent
  intervals to assess each students learning and
  to identify the most effective teaching practices.

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The Three Legs of Educational Improvement

• A clear focus on
• Assessment
• Instruction
• Curriculum

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Examining the Results
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• In organizations goals erode because of a low
  tolerance for emotional tension. Nobody want to
  be the messenger of bad news. The easiest path
  is to pretend there is no bad news, or better
  yet, declare victory- to redefine the bad news
  as not so bad by lowering the standard against
  which it judged
• Peter Senge

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Kindergarten Assessment
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Kennewick School District Third Grade Percentage
of Students at Grade LevelSpring FLT Reading
Scores
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Third Grade Reading Percent to Standard
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KENNEWICK SCHOOL DISTRICTWASL BY LEVELGRADE
41998 - 2006
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KENNEWICK SCHOOL DISTRICTWASL BY LEVELGRADE
71998 - 2006
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KENNEWICK SCHOOL DISTRICTWASL BY LEVELGRADE
101999 - 2006
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Reflection

• What kinds of objective data does your
  school/district have on the progress of your
  students in reading?
• How do you use that information to shape school
  programs?
• What kind of information do you need?

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A System for Improving Instruction
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Framing the Questions

• How do we increase our focus on instructional
  leadership?
• As a district leadership team are we focused on
  teaching and learning?
• How do we assist each other to recognize quality,
  engaging, and rigorous instruction?
• What knowledges, skills, and behaviors do we need
  to assist teachers in increasing academic
  performance of all students?

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What is good instruction?

• Its in the details

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Reflection

• Instructional leadership
• What are you looking for when watching a lesson?

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Why PERR?

• Consciously Competent
• Unconsciously Competent
• Unconsciously Incompetent
• Consciously Incompetent

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Why PERR?

• Consciously Competent
• Unconsciously Competent

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• If we want improvement and keep doing the same
  things and getting the same results, who really,
  are the slow learners.
• Dave Montague

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The Questions

• How do we increase our focus on instructional
  leadership?
• How do we assist each other to recognize quality,
  engaging, and rigorous instruction?

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A System of Instructional Leadership

• Instructional Conferences
• Building and District Level
• Learning Walks
• Teachers and Administrators
• Regular classroom visits -2/10 Goal
• Learning Partners
• District Office/Building Principal
• Model of Good Instruction
• Purpose, Engagement, Rigor, Edison
• Video Taped Lessons
• Available for checkout

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Focus On Instruction

• Instructional Conferences and Learning Walks
• Purpose of the lesson
• Student engagement
• Rigor of the lesson
• Results of the lesson
• Engaging teachers in supportive conversations

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A Model of Quality Instruction
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INSTRUCTIONAL LESSON DESIGN
Activity (Engagement)
Content (Rigor)
Outcome (Results)
EALRS (Purpose)
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Purpose

• What are the elements of purpose in a lesson?

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Purpose

• Teacher intentionally plans and instructs for
  student achievement of essential learnings.
• Clearly communicated
• Consistent through the lesson
• Connected to GLEs
• Connected to previous learning

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Purpose

• Teacher Indicators
• The learning purpose is written on the board
• The teacher states the purpose and refers to it
  during lesson
• Students discover the purpose and it shared at
  some time during the lesson
• There is designated place in the room where the
  purpose is posted

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Purpose

• Student Indicators
• Students know what they are supposed to learn
• Can apply learning
• Students can connect learning to previous
  learning
• Students write the purpose on their assignment
• Students can restate the purpose

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Purpose

• Student Indicators
• Students know what they are supposed to learn
• Can apply learning
• Students can connect learning to previous learning

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• When placed in the same system, people, however
  different, tend to produce the same results.
• Peter Senge

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Video of Classroom Instruction

• Planning Conversation
• Lesson
• Reflective Conversation

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Tips For Using Video Taped Lessons

• 1. Be positive. Look for examples that support
  the concepts for discussion
• 2. Emphasize learning together about the elements
  of instruction
• 3. Focus the discussion on the desire to learn
  how a someone is thinking about their instruction
  as opposed to giving your ideas or input

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The Planning Conversation

• What is the purpose of the lesson?
• Be as specific as possible
• How will the teacher know if the kids met the
  purpose?
• How will they demonstrate what they have learned?

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The Lesson

• How was the purpose communicated to the students?
• Does the instruction match the purpose?
• Did the teacher teach to the stated purpose?
• Do you think the kids know the purpose?
• Did the kids meet the purpose?
• What questions do you have for the teacher?

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Reflective Conversation

• What evidence did the teacher have to determine
  if the purpose of the lesson was met?
• After to listening to the teacher reflect on the
  lesson, what would you like to hear talk more
  about regarding her instructional decisions?

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Learning from each other

• What is my learning focus?
• What did I see?
• What can I use in my own professional practice?
• What support do I need?
• What questions do I have?

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Lessons Learned

• Leadership
• Clear focus
• Assessment
• Early effective intervention
• Clear expectations for instruction

• Quality materials
• Time
• A sense of team
• Training
• Systemic approach to teaching

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Review of the Presentation

• Background information
• The results
• A systemic approach to improving instruction
• A model for quality instruction
• Using video taped lessons to improve instruction

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