Traction, Observation, & Metrics: December MTS

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

-James Baldwin

1.     What is the focus of your inquiry and why is this important to you?

 Inquiry focus hasn’t changed: Task Initiation!

2.     At the end of the year what is the learning goal that you would like your focal students to reach?

 I want teachers to be able to engage all students – even those that are initially reluctant. I want teachers to have a stash of tools so they can self-talk themselves through challenging interactions. This is the actual dirt, grit, mass, substance of teaching best practices. Usually I hate the term ‘differentiation’… it’s remote and abstract: firmament. I want firm.

These tools aren’t new: it’s a pretty darn organic way of problem solving. But, giving a language, a schema, a framework for teachers to organize pedagogy … and feedback on their practice of it is something I think is helpful. For me and for my co-teachers.

And Students.

I want so much from students. I want them to have a consciousness of themselves that resembles how their teachers perceive them. I want them to be metacognitive about their own executive functioning profiles. I want them to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Their academic survival (and for some their financial survival later in life) depends on being able to recognize, compensate, and/or bypass their executive functioning weaknesses.

I want Pookie to know that his attention wanders and that his focal maintenance is insufficient for most adult tasks. I want Rell to understand how his behavior hinders his classmates. I want Artie to know why he’s failing: never starting or finishing any work!

3.     What classroom data are you planning to use for your routine data source to see how students are (or are not) progressing towards this goal?

 I want to support 2 specific general education teachers. For that, I will need to do observations. (Maybe 3 teachers… I have a helping problem; admitting is the first step no?) For observations – both gen ed and special ed – I have an observation form that charts instances where a strategy might’ve been employed (tracking how many directions are given, how often folks are off task, and how many conflicts occur).

Student data is a little squishier. I could give families an inventory on task initiation. But that’s not routine. I could do some surveys with them, but that’s not routine. I think the student-centered data is outtie. Instead I have a self-perception survey that asked them how they see themselves. And I can have folks observe me (other SPED teachers, my IA) to track my own strategy use. Plus the pink notebook!

I think pink is a lucky teaching color for me. The pink notebook is a dialogue journal between me and my assistant teacher. This wasn’t really part of the project. But go figure: the first entry she wrote is about a particular student who struggles to do work independently. Go figure. Pink yo.  I should investigate the color associations.

4.     Take some time to look at the routine data source for 1-2 focal students.  What would indicate if a student was successful? What were you hoping to see?

I will know teachers are successful when they can pull students back from their peers, cell phones, apathy, distraction, and sleep. When teachers can employ tactics to bring students back to work... and when students actually begin working is how I’ll know if I am successful. Perhaps part of the on-task indicators needs to grow to include increased teacher awareness of their own classroom geography.

Teachers attuned.

Teachers integrating.

Students starting.

The world applauds.

5. After talking with your small group, what are you thinking now about what success would look like for your students on your routine data source? What specific indicators of success have you decided on? What are your next steps in your inquiry?

Methinks one of my next steps is to teach my teachers better. I need to be more specific in what I’m looking for, I need to reinforce the information with visuals, or videos, or text. I need to teach, observe, and re-teach. I’m at the re-teaching step with one teacher… which might mean additional observation before huddling up.

I also need to stop fielding crises so that I can observe. How to keep teacher time sacred? That is the question.

November Thoughts: Savants & Svenagli

Mills Teacher Scholars November

Think Sheet for Determining a Learning Goal and Refining Routine Data Source

1. What is the focus of your inquiry as you are thinking about it now and why does this matter to you?

 Same as befo’.

Why: my students possess knowledge – but, because of their affect, teachers affect, their self image as learners, their neurodevelopmental profiles, or their social identity/demands beginning a task – starting, initiating work is often an intersection of non-action or negative corrective action or punishment.

The challenge of the past month has been time – there are so many demands on both my time as well as the teachers involved that I’ve only had 3 real touchpoints this month: a workshop (…actually with 6 of 8 focal teachers… OK, so maybe that’s a small win?), 2 executive functioning evaluations from 2 special ed teachers (although not on my focal students), and one student-to-student conversation that yielded some feedback incidentally from a focal student that just so (beautifully) happened to be on topic. Holler. OK, feeling better actually. Data is still a little threadbare and thrifty, but the seeds are there. Maybe I should schedule a new teacher support session monthly with all my kiddos [teachers] and do it then [at happy hour]?

                                                                       

2. What is the student learning goal embedded in your inquiry?

Students will be able to begin working faster! Faster! Faster!! Faster!!! …and less resistant-ly. Today I had a great non-example of that. She may be in fact my favorite non-example ever. And boy is she consistent in her non-example. T went to sharpen colored pencils to begin her assignment…and cut off another kid in the process of doing the same thing ignored the other teacher’s directions to stop and then when I intervened she huffed away, tossed her pencils, and walked out of class. Bam. Perfect non-example no? #Special Ed Svengali Fail

So, um, yeah. I want the opposite of that.

3. Think back to your student conversation. We encourage you to write specific notes about your individual student.

a) What happened in your conversation? What did your student say?

 Teacher conversation: The teacher conversation wasn’t a 1:1, but rather took place during a workshop we sponsored as a special ed department. We played a classic ‘freeze frame + tag in’ improve game with behavioral scenarios: one teacher would describe a situation, other teachers would then act it out and as soon as someone had an alternate way of approaching the events they’d yell freeze and then demonstrate. So fun right? Maybe it was just me, but better than goin' over disciplinary forms on paper….

My one focal teacher that I did my first observation with organically demonstrated a perfect scenario to demonstrate my focal intervention of ‘Job Talk’: She described asking a challenging student to get his work; he stated he didn’t have his binder, and an escalating conflict ensured. We re-enacted it and I jumped in after his initial ‘I don’t’ have my binder’. The focal teacher was playing the student and I the teacher. I said, “ok, I’m so sorry your binder’s not here – that’s frustrating since you left it under your desk anyways [ reflecting, in a non-charged or know it all ‘duh you shouldn’t leave your binder under your chair there’s a hundred kids in this classroom’ sort of way.] Well, I can get a binder from a student in another period for you to borrow so you have the notes. Would you like to be the reader or the writer to complete the worksheet? Does that sound OK? The focal teacher looked at me and said… “Uh, yeah”.

She shared that she thought it might work had she approached it that way. I haven’t revisited this workshop or exercise with her, but I should as a more complete focal conversation.

The student conversation: passing out the homework sheets, that are green [as always] on a Monday [as always] one of my new 9^th graders asked a question about what the thanksgiving break was. My focal student, Kiaira, said – indignantly, playfully, and with attitude (I know – she can do so much) – said, “Uh Duh! It’s on the sheet! Just like every single Monday! Every week y’all! It’s the same every week… Y’all are hecka slow.”

Which is brilliant. She is one of my strongest task initiators, but she’s clearly apt to internalize routines. One of the perks of special ed is that I get to loop for four full years with my students… which is great for stable routines… which are great for initiating tasks. The tasks can change as long as the format for introducing them is consistent.

A glimpse into the mind of a special ed savant [of task initiation]. Holla.

b) Did anything surprise you?

 Constantly.

c) How did this conversation impact your thinking around your routine data source?

Uh, I need to define and refine one.

After the small group conversation:

4. What are you thinking now? Gotta love a group that points out the obvious oversights: thank you thought partners. My group listened to me talk about the infinitesimal work I’d done so far and then. Then, they so aptly asked me if I’d explicitly told my focal teachers about my work. I hadn’t. It feels like the punch line in a children’s book: very very formulaic and obvious, but what great advice! So, I’m going to peace out on this reflection right now and email my focal teachers and tell them about my project!  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Teacher Who So Generously Lets Me Work With You, I am so excited to learn, reflect, support, and perhaps advise you this year. From my perspective I’ve seen our collaboration thus far as joyful and helpful, although also very inadequate. We don’t have the time we need for reflection and discussion – the things that make teaching get better. In addition to supporting your individual work, I’d like you to support some of mine – developed in response to a few years of observation about student learning. My motivation for this project isn’t in response to your classroom specifically, but If you’re receiving this email it is something I’ve seen when working with you at some point and I’m hoping you’ll consent to workshop the ideas and strategies with me. The deal: I’m interested in supporting student task initiation. And I believe that the teacher end of that is just as important, if not more important than the student end. Are you interested in working with me to get students started on work more efficiently? I am hoping so… because this is what I’m passionate about (it’s also the focus of my Mills Teacher Scholar program work). I do want this: To help you avoid power struggles To reduce icky incidents and non-compliance To increase student production and learning I don’t want this: To be time consuming or arduous To be irrelevant My rationale: Students possess knowledge – but, because of their affect, our affect as teachers, their self image as learners, their neurodevelopmental profiles, or their social identity/demands beginning a task – starting, initiating work is often an intersection of non-action or negative corrective action or punishment. …I.E. they don’t start their work and that’s the entry point to conflict. And ain’t nobody got time for that. So will you: Learn and workshop a simple verbal technique with me? (Time commitment: one 30 minute meeting to learn the technique, 4 five minute surveys throughout the year, a conversation with me once in awhile about how it’s going). Low investment, high yield (I’m hoping) Are you game: __ Hell no, Dixon – you’re doin' too much (no offense taken) __ Ok maybe I’m open __ Oh Hell Yes

First Post

Prompt: After talking with your small group, and with your appointment partners, what are you thinking now about your inquiry (this can be about your routine data source, your focal student conversation, next steps, or something else that is on your mind about your inquiry).

Rationale:

Task initiation as a “clash point” (Ginny)

My students possess knowledge – but, because of their affect, teachers affect, their self image as learners, their neurodevelopmental profiles, or their social identity/demands beginning a task – starting, initiating work is often an intersection of non-action or negative corrective action or punishment. 

My students escalate conflicts when asked to do simple things sometimes. Or other times they melt down in angry outbursts. Or they sit quietly... in the corner... without starting any work either. 

Part of my job is to support students in all their courses - including their mainstream classes where the task demands are significantly more challenging  If I can support my co-teachers with strategies to help students begin to engage then my hope is that they will complete more work, build their sense of can-do confidence, and ultimately acquire the skills necessary for independent adult living.  

This work will be done:

In My Own Classroom

With our School's Special Educators 

With a few focal General Education Teachers

...because we need to use every minute of class strategically - we ain't got time to waste on power struggles or avoidance!

Domain: Promoting Executive Function Skills

Sub-Domain: Task Initiation - Specific Strategies

First Semester

Job Talk

Future Sketching

Second Semester

Declarative Language

Red-Yellow-Green/ ready-set-go

Action Items:

1. Add descriptors to the 1-5 strength/challenge scale on the executive functioning inventory
2. Get clarity on Declarative Language
3. Pre-coded observation forms; maybe 2 types (deductive coded and inductive AH teacher-student form)
4. Pre-coded observation forms for: job talk, future sketching, declarative language, instances of student conflicts (and who), instances of corrective prompts (and who)
5. Teacher evaluation asking: have these techniques helped? How? Examples? Fails?
6. Schedule of implementation (my room w/ Ms. T, with SPED team, with gen ed)
7. A teacher interview form would be cool. Plus having them complete the student conference form independently (3x/year?)   

Thinking Items:

Breaking apart task initiation

How can I / will I support when students initiate, and then stop?

Good Questions:

Is focusing on this the affect or is this a way to avoid affect?

This is good because task initiation happens every day.

Can teachers observe each other?