January MTS

Mills Teacher Scholars                                                                                                                                   

Looking at Focal Student Progress

January 2014

The purpose of this electronic document is to give you one place to put all your work from the Saturday meeting – when you are done, please be sure to copy and paste into your blog! In this way you will have a record of your work, and the MTS group facilitators will be able to send you feedback on your work. Thank you!

The learning goal related to my area of Inquiry/Inquiry Question is:

My routine data source is:

Demonstrating Success: Reflect on what evidence you see in the routine data source that tells you how your student is or is not progressing on the indicators.

Out of Class

In Class Walks out

In Class Not Working

In Class Working Stalls and Gets Stuck

In Class Working Redirectable

In Class Working Independently Focused

Indicators	Teacher Initials __________________	Teacher Initials __________________
I: Directions include: Future sketching CHAMPS? Red Book indicators? Positive Behav-Value praise Reinforces BEFORE off track?	☐Met ☐Not met  ☐ Partially What evidence of student learning do you see in the student work?	☐Met ☐Not met  ☐ Partially Evidence of student learning:
II: initiates contact when a student is off track (add adjectives? Using reflection, __?, ??)	☐Met ☐Not met  ☐ Partially Evidence of student learning/thinking:	☐Met ☐Not met  ☐ Partially Evidence of student learning/thinking:
III: Uses Job Talk	☐Met ☐Not met  ☐ Partially Evidence of student learning/thinking:	☐Met ☐Not met  ☐ Partially Evidence of student learning/thinking:

Indicators	Student Initials __________________	Student Initials __________________
I: Starts task after directions given	☐Met ☐Not met  ☐ Partially What evidence of student learning do you see in the student work?	☐Met ☐Not met  ☐ Partially Evidence of student learning:
II: Asks for break before switching tasks OR Asks for help before getting off task	☐Met ☐Not met  ☐ Partially Evidence of student learning/thinking:	☐Met ☐Not met  ☐ Partially Evidence of student learning/thinking:
III: Starts working independently within 2 minutes OR Asks on-task follow up questions (clarifying/procedural) OR Asks for help (scribe, alternate task)	☐Met ☐Not met  ☐ Partially Evidence of student learning/thinking:	☐Met ☐Not met  ☐ Partially Evidence of student learning/thinking:

Notes:

Lowering affective filters

Lowering academic demands

SDC sheet

Meeting students where they’re at: what that means

Think aloud on behavior case examples

How will I change my teaching based on what I learned by looking at the data? SPED workshop 1/29 First Thursday Workshop 2/6 Standing Date to observe focal teachers Co-observation with focal teachers

During your small group discussion, if a colleague takes electronic notes, ask him or her to write them here:

Reflection:

Saliency of minimal demands in SDC class, slow pace, wait time

If the structural pieces are in place, there will be fewer conflicts

Track positive feedback/affirmation?

Using the spectrum as working documents with focal teachers to build a shared language to discuss this inquiry field

At the end of the discussion a colleague records your answer to this prompt: What are you thinking now?

Action Items:

Student continuum on/off task behavior

Teacher continuum for directions and intervention + indicators?

Sped. Department training around behavior

Departmental observations

Do observation triangles with focal teacher and debrief

Afternoon notes:

Preparation for the February meeting: Sharing your Work In Progress

1 What is your area of inquiry? What are you wondering about?

How much more effective and efficient would we be as teachers if students understood and complied with directions and persisted through difficult academic tasks? At the heart of this inquiry I’m talking about resilience. I actually dislike the term – I think it’s often used as a weapon to nullify the very concrete impacts of structural oppression. Resilience will not end poverty – ending poverty will end poverty. You dig? But, I’d like to re-cast resilience in a film other than an urban blockbuster action –comedy. Resilience belonging to target populations isn’t helpful. Resilience as a lifelong human skill – that needs teaching, refinement, and regular practice – is a universal thing that will make our world better.

I depend on partnering with teachers. I depend on partnering with students. Even when – especially when – I’m not in the room. The general education setting is almost always the context that adult life is lived in. The success of my teacher partners to persist in the face of student refusal is a critical skill for educators. The concept of getting started and persisting with work that is challenging is a critical skill for students – to both ensure their academic growth as well as to insulate them from disciplinary action. Giving children and teachers to work together is my job as a special education teacher.

And before any effective teaching can take place student affect must be amenable to learning.

Ay, there’s the rub.

In order to scaffold the first layer of instruction – getting started on work – I selected task initiation as a critical domain and specific strategies to go with it.

2 What is your routine data source? What student thinking are you able to see in your data?

My data source is consistent: just tally marks on the form above. I should possibly incorporate some sort of reflective feedback piece to incorporate the inner life/thought process of the focal teachers.

3 What are your indicators of success? What does success look like for students on this data source?

Success looks like students on task! And, if they aren’t it looks like teachers making strategic attempts to get students back to work.

4 What learning have you seen so far? What has surprised you?

I have seen teachers start to use the language of our work, our intervention terms with other teachers. Yippiee!

5 What changes (large or small) have you made and/or do you plan to make to your teaching as a result of what you have learned so far?

I would like to videotape myself in order to teach examples and non-examples with my focal teachers.

I also need to keep having workshops!

6 What are your next steps? What would you like help with from your listeners as you move forward?

How can I become more consistent with observation and feedback? Do I need to alter my data sheet?

After talking with your appointment colleagues, what are you thinking now about your inquiry, your next steps, or your February talk?

I really need to do a better job teaching my teachers the strategies. Perhaps using Zoe’s language of linking behaviors to values and a teacher (me) modeled think aloud.