Revisioning High School The world has changed, high schools must change. . .

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Re-visioningHigh SchoolThe world has changed,
high schools must change. . .

• Steering Committee Meeting
• February 20, 2008

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Agenda

• Introduction
• Compass Points
• High School Graduate Composite
• ACT/TIMSS Data
• 2013 Graduate
• Instructional Best Practices
• Research Team Expectations

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Why Every Child Should Be Prepared for the World
Beyond High School

• The benefits of having a good education are
  widely recognized a great incentive for
  individuals to do well.
• What are now much clearer, however, are the
  substantial economic social costs associated
  with failure to learn failure to achieve ones
  full potential.
• Fullan, Hill, Crévola, Breakthrough, 2006

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What We Know about College Readiness

• Based on 2005 ACT-tested high school graduates,
  it appears that only about half of our nations
  ACT-tested high school students are ready for
  college-level reading.
• Only about 33 of ACT-tested students take all of
  the courses needed to prepare them for
  college-level work.
• ACT College Readiness Executive Summary

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Recommendations

• Recommendation 1
• Increase postsecondary readiness by requiring
  that all students take specific college
  preparatory course sequences in English,
  mathematics, science foreign language.
• English 912
• Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 at least one
  other advanced mathematics course beyond Algebra
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• Biology, Chemistry Physics
• One to two years of a foreign language

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Recommendations

• Recommendation 2
• Improve the rigor of high school coursework with
  a greater focus on in-depth content coverage
  considerably greater secondary-to-postsecondary
  curriculum alignment.
• Covering content by using textbooks lectures
  has been discredited through rigorous studies of
  Tyler (1949) by thirty-plus years of research
  in the areas of cognition, education literacy
  (Wilhelm, 2007).

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With lecture only, students forget most
information within two weeks practically all
within two years. (Gee 2003)
Typical Retention Rates
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Research Based Models

• Engage students in active learning experiences
• Set high, meaningful expectations
• Provide timely specific feedback
• Understand stretch student learning styles
• Present real-world applications
• Understand criteria methods for assessment
• Create time for interaction
• Promote engagement effort

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Research Based Models

• Inquiry
• Teaching what we HAVE to teach in a way that
  matters to kids.
• The process of accessing, building, extending,
  using knowledge consistent with what is thought
  known in a discipline.
• TIMSS (Third International Mathematics Science
  Study, 2003) reported that inquiry leads to more
  engagement, retention, understanding, application
  higher test scores.

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Research Based Models

• Differentiated Instruction (DI)
• Teachers can differentiate the content, process,
  or product by readiness, interest, or learning
  style.
• Students taught in their preferred learning
  styles demonstrated higher levels of achievement,
  showed more interest in the subject matter
  wanted other subjects to be taught similarly.
• Bell, L. (1986). Middle School Journal,
  18-19

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Research Based Models

• Sheltered Instruction (SIOP)
• A means for making academic content (e.g.,
  science, social studies, math) more accessible to
  students while at the same time promoting English
  language development.
• Focus areas
• Academic Vocabulary
• Learning Strategies
• Interaction
• Hands-on Practice

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In Closing

• The mission for schools is not just about
  literacy numeracy scores. It is about learning
  to learn, about becoming independent thinkers
  learners. It is about problem-solving, teamwork,
  knowledge of the world, adaptability comfort in
  a global world of technologies, conflict
  complexity. It is about the pleasure
  productivity of using ones learning in all
  facets of work life pursuits.
• Fullan, Hill, Crévola, Breakthrough, 2006

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The Big Question

• What knowledge, skills, and dispositions should
  the high school graduate of 2013 possess?

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Crafting the Answer

• College Ready
• Critical Thinking Skills
• Marketable Job Skills
• Life Skills
• Love of Learning

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Research Team Expectations

• What information do you need to draft a high
  school redesign plan?
• What supporting documents would help you make
  informed decisions?
• How would you like the information organized?
• How would you like the information presented?

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Research Teams

• Graduation Requirements Wendy
• Advanced Learning Opportunities - George
• Senior Project Development - Shelly
• Course Development and Alignment - Trina
• Special Populations Gail and Kevin
• Instructional Delivery Model - Randy
• Resources - Guy
• Assessment - Elisa

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Next Meeting

• No Homework
• February 27, 2008
• 500 p.m.