CREDIT RECOVERY STARTUP Challenges and Strategies To Get Your Teachers On Board

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CREDIT RECOVERY STARTUPChallenges and Strategies
To Get Your Teachers On Board!

• Presented by Amanda Hefner
• Pflugerville ISD PLATO Coordinator 2001-2005
• Northside ISD PLATO Training Development 2005

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CASE STUDY Dessau MS
TRIALS TRIBULATIONS
PLANNING LOGISTICS
MOTIVATIONAL STRATEGIES
RESOURCES
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LOGISTICS
CASE STUDY Dessau MS

• CONTENT

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LOGISTICS
CASE STUDY DMS gt
School Profile

• Dessau Middle School, located in Pflugerville,
  Texas,
• is one of four Pflugerville ISD middle schools.
  
• Over 52 of DMS students are classified as
  economically disadvantaged.
• The schools diverse student body is composed of
  approximately
• 30 Hispanic, 30 Caucasian, 30 African
  American, and 10 Asian/Other.
• As a result of such challenging demographics, the
  school also has a high level of at-risk youth,
  having already been retained within the past two
  to three years.
• In its second year, failure rates at DMS demanded
  attention and the school purchased PLATO Pathways
  with 21st Century Grant funding to aid in TAKS
  preparation and begin a credit recovery program.
  
• For four years, Dessau has utilized PLATO
  Pathways for improving student achievement and
  recovering course credits.
• The development of the DMS Credit Recovery
  Program presented new challenges for the school,
  teachers, and students involved.

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LOGISTICS
CASE STUDY DMS gt
Program Goal

• To create an alternative learning environment in
  which students who were failing could recover
  credits and earn grade points by completing
  academic coursework, as well as demonstrate
  achievement in the specific content areas of
  which they were failing.

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LOGISTICS
CASE STUDY DMS gt
Meeting Special Needs

• Learning Disabilities
• Engaging PLATO Courseware
• Provides Guided Instruction, Interactive
  Participation, Positive and Helpful Feedback.
• Physical Disabilities
• Audio/ Visual Assistance Software
• Intellitools http//www.intellitools.com/
• Behavioral Issues
• Instant Gratification from Interactives (ADD,
  ADHD, ED, etc.)
• Accountability
• Engaged Learning Boosts Student Motivation

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LOGISTICS
CASE STUDY DMS gt
Challenges Ahead
Credit Recovery Program Needs Risk Assessment
Team revealed several potential issues prior to
implementation

• The new campus was already overwhelmed by new
  school issues.
• Facilitators were not always going to be the
  actual classroom teacher assigning the credit
  recovery.
• Middle school retention policies at state and
  local levels often dictated student eligibility.
• The Human Factors involved in implementing an
  alternative education program.

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LOGISTICS
CASE STUDY DMS gt CHALLENGES AHEAD
Human Factors

• STUDENTS
• Most of the student candidates for the program
  had failed classes due to
• personality conflicts with teachers
• lack of personal motivation
• disciplinary problems
• or attendance issues

• TEACHERS
• TAKING IT PERSONALLY Some teachers were
  uncomfortable with the program feeling as if the
  students need for credit recovery was a direct
  reflection of their teaching abilities, rather
  than the students own personal issues.
• CONCERNS ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY Others were
  reluctant to offer a second chance when it was
  actually the third, thirteenth, or thirtieth
  chance to pass.

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LOGISTICS
CASE STUDY DMS gt
The Consensus

• It is obvious that the direct involvement of the
  core teachers is critical to the success of the
  program. However, the integrity of the program
  and dedication to targeted learning will
  effectively win the teachers over.

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LOGISTICS
Trials Tribulations

• CONTENT

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LOGISTICS
TRIALS TRIBULATIONS gt
2001-2002 Year 1The Startup

• The Credit Recovery Program begins with a
  committee selecting students who failed the Fall
  and beginning of Spring semesters, mailing a
  letter home, and offering a chance to make up
  these credits with after-school PLATO tutorials.

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LOGISTICS
TRIALS TRIBULATIONS gt
2001-2002 The Problem

• The participating students were not given
  targeted coursework.
• They were simply placed on PLATO FASTTrack
  assessments and committed to 9 hours of tutorials
  assigned by the system. After most of the work
  had been completed, facilitators noticed that
  some students were not on their grade-level in
  the tutorials. Some 8th graders were placed into
  5th grade levels because they goofed off on the
  assessments.
• This was disappointing to the teachers who
  expected the students to be spending their time
  on more challenging activities, similar to those
  in their classrooms.
• Many teachers lost faith in the effectiveness of
  the program and would have to be convinced to
  trust the program again the next year.

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LOGISTICS
TRIALS TRIBULATIONS gt
2001-2002 The Solution

• PLATO Coordinators developed a learning
  management tool for teachers.
• A checklist of each curriculum, course, module
  and tutorial was developed. Instead of using
  FASTTrack, teachers would target specific lessons
  for their students in alignment with the actual
  subject matter they missed or failed in class.
• Students were assigned courseware at or near
  their grade level by the facilitator. Then, PLATO
  adjusted where necessary.
• In order to reduce the goofing off during
  assessments, students were given a prep-lesson on
  how PLATO assesses their skills.
• More questions narrowing down to actual skill
  level fewer modules ?

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LOGISTICS
TRIALS TRIBULATIONS gt
2002-2003 Year 2

• The program dramatically improved with the use of
  the courseware checklists and teachers regained
  confidence in the program integrity.
• Students were enrolled in Credit Recovery by
  November for the Fall semester and completed it
  by Christmas break. However, more stumbling
  blocks appeared.

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LOGISTICS
TRIALS TRIBULATIONS gt
2002-2003 The Problem

• Classroom behavior declined, Teachers losing
  faith
• During the second semester, students enrolled in
  the program were not keeping up academically in
  the very class for which they were working on
  credit recovery.
• In addition, the behavior of some program
  students worsened.
• Teachers complained that students thought their
  participation in credit recovery was in place of
  classroom learning, or was a shoe-in for
  promotion and they were not performing to the
  teachers expectations.
• Some teachers began to reject the program as
  causing more problems than solving them.

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LOGISTICS
TRIALS TRIBULATIONS gt
2002-2003 The Solution

• PLATO Coordinators developed a Participant
  Accountability Contract.
• The coordinating team created an accountability
  contract for the students with a rubric which
  covered classroom participation, behavior and
  outstanding assignments.
• It also gave the teachers the ability to provide
  feedback on how it was impacting their classroom.
  
• The monitored accountability of the student
  reduced the problems in the regular classroom
  significantly and teachers were more comfortable
  with having the program during the school year.

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LOGISTICS
TRIALS TRIBULATIONS gt
2003-2004 Year 3

• With the courseware checklist and the
  accountability document in place, the program was
  running smoothly and most teachers were
  supportive and satisfied with the results
  demonstrated by the PLATO courseware.
• In addition to the feedback from the teachers,
  reports were generated from PLATO and provided to
  the teachers to show that the student had, in
  fact, mastered the desired content.
• This reporting procedure and constant
  communication between the teachers, students, and
  facilitators boosted teacher confidence in the
  program even more. They now had tangible
  evidence that their students were assigned and
  had achieved the specified learning objectives.
• More teachers enrolled students in the program
  this year than ever before.

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LOGISTICS
TRIALS TRIBULATIONS gt
2004-2005 Year 4

• Dessau Middle School completed its fourth year
  of Credit Recovery with PLATO Pathways
  courseware.
• Finally, the staff is fully supportive of the
  program and its efforts to provide the students
  with alternate learning opportunities.
• With the development of new program tools and
  tracking strategies, both teachers and
  administrators can be confident in the promotion
  of Credit Recovery participants.

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LOGISTICS
Planning Logistics

• CONTENT

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LOGISTICS
PLANNING LOGISTICS gt
Lab Design Considerations

• Lab Size / Number of Students
• Equipment Hardware
• Meets PLATO System Requirements
• Cost of New Equipment
• System Hosting
• Static, Local Server
• Web-Based, Local Server
• Web-Based, PLATO Inc. Hosted
• Classroom Orientation
• Consider teacher movement, visibility of student
  computer screens, projection system, SmartBoards,
  and other useful equipment available.

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LOGISTICS
PLANNING LOGISTICS gt
Lab Design Considerations (cont.)

• People
• Student to Teacher ratio
• 115, with teacher as moderator, will usually
  allow for proper supervision, periodic individual
  assistance, and occasional tech support. This
  depends on available resources.
• Funding for teacher pay if after-hours (Title 1,
  1st Cent. Grants, etc.)
• Lab availability for facilitators
• Open or Reserved Lab?
• One-on-One tutoring more teachers needed
• Special Needs Students
• Specialized Audio/Visual Software or Hardware
• Behavior Contracts - need monitoring feedback
• Reporting and Analyzation of Data

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LOGISTICS
PLANNING LOGISTICS gt
Special Characters (the kid kind)

• Why does this student need Credit Recovery?
• Cognitive
• Motivational (home, peers, hormones,
  disinterest, substance abuse)
• Personality Conflicts
• English Language Learners (ESL, etc.)
• Migrant Worker Family
• Excessive Abscences (truancy? Illness? other?)
• Customize the program to fit the student for
  maximum success.
• Conduct placement assessments
• Target lessons based on actual missing subject
  material
• Alternative schedule, learning environment,
  teacher
• Implement an accountability system
• Involve students, parents, teachers, and
  administrators in the program development process

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LOGISTICS
Motivational StrategiesFor the Staff

• CONTENT

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Who Are You Dealing With?
MOTIVATINAL STRATEGIES gt

• Consider These When Formulating Your Approach
• Attutudes Toward Technology
• Savvy, Scared, Territorial, Indifferent
• Learning Styles
• Personality Types
• Teaching Styles
• Interventionist more concerned with student
  accountability, interested in assessments,
  reporting, data analysis to prove success of
  efforts
• Interactionist desires more hands-on
  participation in program, may want to be
  facilitator
• Permissive less concerned with problems, may
  pass on opportunity to address a students need
  for credit recovery

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1. Sell the Lab to the Staff!!
MOTIVATINAL STRATEGIES gt

• Introduce the staff to PLATO
• Quick courseware and lesson demo at a faculty
  meeting.
• Short workshop on a professional development day.
• Successful student case summaries
• Stats and Graphs of PLATO Success (from
  PLATO.com site)
• Use a PLATO assessment to quiz the staff. NOTE
  This might press your luck!!

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Get Them In the Lab
MOTIVATINAL STRATEGIES gt
2. Get Them In The Lab!

• Provide Graduated Learning Materials
• Remember to consider the varied types of users.
• Lab Managers, Referral teachers, Hands-on
  teachers, Administrators, Technicians
• Create activities that MOTIVATE, Not Intimidate
• Self-Guided Orientation Manual
• Sample Canned Integration Lessons for Core
  Subjects, with Extension Ideas
• Workshops for Beginners, Integrators, Credit
  Recovery, Etc.
• Offer Continuing Education Credit, Licenses,
  Activity Funding, Etc. as Incentives.

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Keepem Coming Back For More!
MOTIVATINAL STRATEGIES gt
3. Keepem Coming Back For More!

• Plan for Long-Range Program Management
• Beginner Tutorials/Reference Manuals
• Include starter and refresher information.
• Printed and/or online availability
• Watch for PLATO Leaders Among Trainees
• Take advantage of the more tech-savvy staff and
  designate a few as faculty tutors or tech support
  for other PLATO users.
• Utilize PLATOs Customizable Curriculum
• Create a Shared Curriculum In PLATO for staff to
  pull assignments from or collaborate on
  cross-curricular lessons.
• Continue and Promote Incentives for Using PLATO

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LOGISTICS
Resources

• CONTENT

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Resources
Resources

• Session Presentation, Resources
  Linkswww.ahefner.com/plato
• iSHARE PLATO Collaborative Online
  Communityhttp//www.ishareplato.com/
• Getting Started The Process of Establishing a
  Teacher Training Site http//www.readingrecovery.
  org/sections/implementation/started.asp
• At-Risk Students at Castle Park MS Recover Skills
  Using PLATO Learning http//www.plato.com/download
  s/implementations/castle_park.pdf
• Computer Lab Design Considerationshttp//www.colo
  rado.edu/its/recommendations/labs.html
• History of PLATO http//www.platopeople.com/emoti
  cons.html

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