Math Growth through Flexible Grouping SAS Institute December 7-9, 2014 “The idea that a single teacher, working alone, can know and do everything to meet the needs of 30 diverse students every day throughout the school year has rarely worked, and it certainly won’t meet the needs of learners in years to come.” - Carroll, 2009 Eisenhower Elementary School Upper St. Clair School District 100 Warwick Dr. Upper St. Clair, PA 15241 Mark Miller mmiller@uscsd.k12.pa.us
WHY FLEXIBLE !GROUPING? OUR !RESPONSE !TO: ‣ !DATA ‣ !TRUE !SYSTEMATIC !DIFFERENTIATION ‣ !MATCHING !INSTRUCTION !TO !EVERY !LEARNER ‣ !GROWING !ALL !STUDENTS! Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014
WHY Students !Answer !the !Question, “What !does !it !feel !like !when !you !feel !lost !in !class?” ๏ I feel scared. Sometimes I try to listen harder but mostly it doesn’t work. ๏ I get mad. ๏ I want to go home and watch TV. ๏ After a while, I give up. ๏ I wish the teacher would know how I feel and would help me. ๏ I feel dumb. ๏ I don’t like the subject very much. ๏ I tell myself maybe I’ll get it tomorrow. ๏ I daydream. ๏ Sometimes I get in trouble. ๏ I play with my hair. My mom doesn’t like when I do that. ๏ I wish I was smart. ASCD Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014
WHY Students !Answer !the !Question, “What !does !it !feel !like !when !classes !move !too !slowly?” ๏ I try my best to pay attention, but it can be really hard. I try to copy down absolutely everything so I can maybe learn something. ๏ I always play with my shoes. ๏ I read ahead in the book. ๏ I draw tanks and airplanes. ๏ I make up complicated math problems. ๏ I plan out my day. ๏ I color my nails with my pen. ๏ One thing my sister taught me to do is to listen to music in my head, or to think back to a movie, to its funny parts. ๏ When I had braces, I used to play with my braces, and I had braces for four years! ASCD Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014
WHAT !IS FLEXIBLE !GROUPING ‣ !OUR !100 !STUDENTS, !NOT !“MY” !25 ‣ !STUDENTS !ARE !PLACED !IN !GROUPS !BASED !ON ! CURRENT !LEVEL !OF !READINESS ‣ !INSTRUCTION !MATCHES !GROUP ‣ !IS !FLEXIBLE !FOR !STUDENT !MOVEMENT !AT !ALL ! TIMES Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014
Data Driven Decisions Culture Instruction MATH !GROWTH through FLEXIBLE GROUPING Administrative Research Support Professional Development Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014
Culture GUIDING !QUESTIONS to !increase !student !learning WE !MUST !continue !to !ask !and ! answer !these !four !critical !questions: ‣ What is it we expect our kids to learn? ‣ How will we know when they have learned it? ‣ How will we respond when they don’t learn? ‣ How will we respond when they do learn? (Dufour) Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014
Culture YOUR !CHECKLIST ‣ Is your culture set up to support & deliver individualized and differentiated instruction? ‣ Is the schedule created to increase student learning or to keep adults happy? ‣ Are your students assured extra time and support for learning? ‣ Is your response timely ? How quickly are you able to identify the kids who need extra time and support? Does your focus prompt intervention or enrichment rather than sluggish remediation? ‣ Is your response directive rather than invitational? Are kids invited to put in extra time or does your system ensure they put in extra time? ‣ Is your response systematic ? Do kids receive this intervention or enrichment according to a school-wide plan rather than at the discretion of individual teachers? Luck of the draw is NOT acceptable. Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014
Culture NECESSARY !CULTURAL !SHIFTS In traditional schools, each teacher In professional learning communities, in isolation teams of teachers ๏ decides what to teach and when to ๏ build shared knowledge about teach it. essential learning and pacing. ๏ administers infrequent summative ๏ administer frequent common assessments. formative assessments. ๏ focuses on inputs of teaching. ๏ focus on results-evidence of learning. ๏ practices the “if only” model of ๏ practice the “what if” model of improvement-looking out of the improvement-looking in the mirror. window. ๏ create systematic responses that ๏ determines what to do when students ensure learning support for every don’t learn. student. (Dufour, Dufour, & Eaker. Solution Tree 2012) Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014
Culture DO !OUR !STUDENTS’ !NEEDS !COME !FIRST? The Mayo Clinic Motto Putting the Needs of the Patient First “The needs of the patient come first,” and we will meet those needs through “the practice of team medicine” and “unsurpassed collaboration” (Mayo Clinic Mission and Values) . As Berry and Seltman write in “Management Lessons From Mayo Clinic”(2008): “In the Mayo Clinic, teamwork is not optional-It is mandatory” (p. 51) “Patients don’t get a doctor: They get the expertise of the entire organization” (p. 50) “Collaboration, cooperation, and coordination are the three dynamics supporting the practice of team medicine at Mayo Clinic” (p. 65) Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014
Culture USC’s BELIEFS FOR GROWING LEARNERS ‣ By scheduling effectively and working together, every child should receive INSTRUCTION BASED ON WHERE THEY ARE AS LEARNERS. Through the use of strategies such as flexible grouping and using ALL staff efficiently and effectively we are committed to differentiating and individualizing our instruction to meet the needs of all students. All instruction should match your child’s level of academic readiness, interest level, or learner style. ‣ DID THEY LEARN IT? as opposed to DID WE TEACH IT? Our primary goal is to focus on whether students learn the intended concepts, as opposed to focusing on the fact that we taught the curriculum and we need to move on. It sounds simple, but this belief is critical in providing individualized and meaningful instruction to each student. ‣ SECOND CHANCE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES ARE A MUST! We are committed to providing timely, focused supports in order to give our students SECOND CHANCE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES! We assess after each lesson to determine if our students learned the concept. It is not enough to wait until the chapter test to see if students have learned. ‣ Unwavering belief in FOCUS ON STUDENT LEARNING! Together. ‣ COLLABORATION with a FOCUS! No longer is our culture looking through the lens of a single classroom teacher of “My 25 students.” We believe we can better meet the needs of our students by utilizing the entire faculty and resources with a mindset of “Our 500 students.” ‣ RESPOND SYSTEMATICALLY! Our belief is that EVERY child will get equal opportunity to receive individualized instruction, challenges, and supports no matter the grade level or classroom.
D A T A D R I V E N D E C I S I O N DATA !DRIVEN !DECISIONS S USING !ALL !TYPES !OF !DATA !MATTERS! ๏ Pretest, rate of acquisition, prior performance, parent information should be taken into account ‣ Students can move within the chapter/topic/unit/ novel to suit their needs ๏ Local Assessments ‣ Common pretests ‣ Common posttests ๏ Assessment FOR Learning ‣ Quick checks ‣ Quizzes & Homework ‣ CheckS for understanding (lesson by lesson basis) Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014
I N S T R U C T I O N FLEXIBLE !GROUPING ALLOWS !US !TO !CUSTOMIZE ‣ Utilize instructional techniques that fit the group ‣ CUSTOMIZE in-class instructional practices ‣ CUSTOMIZE homework that reflects classroom instruction ‣ CUSTOMIZE guided and independent practice activities depending on level of group ‣ Set high/appropriate expectations for every group and learner Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014
I N S T R U C T STRUCTURAL !IMPACT !OF I O N FLEXIBLE !GROUPING ‣ Group sizes vary based on current level of readiness ‣ Utilize ALL available staff to lower the instructional size of some groups with an emphasis on differentiating based on the learners ‣ Split students into small groups during some guided and independent practice time ‣ Utilize student teachers to work with small groups during independent practice time ‣ Instruction MUST match the instructional needs of each group (Focus of instruction and learning objective should be at different places on the same day across the grade level.) Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014
Admin. ADMINISTRATIVE !SUPPORT Support ๏ Principal ‣ Schedules ‣ Staffing needs ‣ Assist with parent communication ‣ Understand and support the philosophy of flexible grouping ‣ Walkthroughs, observations, and discussions (formal and informal) should focus on being informative/supportive with an emphasis growth Upper St. Clair School District Eisenhower Elementary School 2014
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