All Articles tagged high-school.

The Danielson Framework for Teaching: Implications in the Classroom

October 18, 2020 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Charlotte Danielson wrote a book. An important one. And now all of New York City has changed how it evaluates teachers: the Danielson Framework.

Gone are the days when teachers in public schools received just satisfactory or unsatisfactory ratings. Although there are twenty-eight criteria in four domains in the Danielson Framework, teachers are currently scored on eight of those criteria. Also gone are the days when teachers with tenure are not observed: in a typical year, teachers have an option of four ways to be observed (a combination of formal/informal observations and the number of times). The flexibility in observations depends upon the previous year’s rating. Generally teachers have an average of four observations, but it can range from 3-6 observations in an academic year.

If you ask me, I think the Danielson Framework for Classroom Teaching is a wonderful way to assess teachers and classrooms. The framework has four domains. The first domain is “Planning and Preparation”, and teachers are allowed to provide artifacts and samples of their work to prove that they are well-planned and prepared for their lessons and that their lessons are aligned to the Common Core standards. The second domain is “Creating a Classroom Environment”, which discusses how teachers should create a classroom that is open, warm, and lively. This domain also explains how students should be motivated and take pride in their own work. The third domain, “Instruction,” references the quality of teaching that goes on in the classroom, including level of discussion, questioning techniques, and higher-order thinking. The last domain, “Professional Responsibilities,” discusses continuing teacher education, communication with parents, collaboration with staff, and other professional obligations.

Charlotte Danielson’s keynote speech is filmed in Reno, Nevada on September 24, 2013.

By Stephanie Spector, Learning Specialist

Key Messages That Support The Learning Process

October 13, 2020 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

No matter their students’ location or grade level, there are a number of key messages that educators need to communicate to students in order to help them to be effective learners and to see their teacher(s) as an integral part of supporting them in the learning process. Key messages are the core concepts that a speaker wants their audience (in this case, students) to hear and remember and, most importantly, believe. Effective key messages both resonate in the moment and stay with the listeners long after they first hear the messages.

Maslow’s hierarchy reminds us as educators that students’ needs for safety, belonging, and self-confidence must be addressed in order for them to learn academic material effectively. With these considerations in mind, our key messages for students are based not in scholastic content but in social-emotional principles. These messages help students see that achievements that may feel unreachable to them now will be reachable soon. These messages encourage social-emotional learning transfer by helping students identify and activate positive attributes they already possess, as well as by helping them cultivate new ones. These messages encourage students to take intellectual risks — an essential aspect of being a fully actualized learner — by reassuring them that they have a safety net and that the teacher believes in the student and their ability. These messages help learners build stamina and give them the confidence to persist when learning is challenging — both when the educator is there beside them and when the student is working independently. These messages help students conceptualize their work with their teacher as something that helps them both in the immediate moment and in the long term.

The key messages below should be shared directly with your students as well as embedded implicitly in your communications with them during each interaction. Repeated use makes a critical difference.

My Learning Springboard believes in these key messages for our students:

Our work together is important.
You can do this.
I am here for you and won’t give up on you.
Learning new things can be hard, but remember you’ve done hard things before (remember when you…).
You may not be able to do this YET, but the key word is “yet.”
Effective effort + persistence = success.

Think back to a time when you struggled alone with something as a learner — perhaps when you floundered in isolation, felt misunderstood, or were hesitant to ask for assistance. Imagine how things could have been different if you had been able to work with a teacher who was consistently encouraging and who made it safe to ask for help. How could hearing these key messages have benefited you as you tried to master that concept or skill set? We believe that these messages could have let you know that you were not alone, that someone cared about you and believed in you, that some struggle is an integral part of learning, and that your efforts would be fruitful in the end. With that growth mindset and belief system, you would be more willing to take risks, which, as we note above, is really what learning is all about.

Encouraging messages are always important in education, but we find them to be even more vital in the current moment, when students, parents, and educators are navigating the new landscape of remote learning along with a set of larger uncertainties. For many students right now, learning feels less fun, harder, more abstract, perhaps less relevant to their daily lives. A teacher who works to connect with a student, who expresses confidence in them, and who is unwaveringly there for them helps the student understand that this too shall pass and that in the meanwhile, we are all working to move forward together.

By Laurie Gross, M.A.T. and Learning Specialist, and Brad Hoffman, M.S.Ed. and Learning Specialist

Classroom Management Strategies for Distance Learning Success

September 20, 2020 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

While a lot of the plans for this school year are changing from day to day, one certainty is that many students will be distance learning or experiencing a hybrid model of education. Naturally, families are concerned about how to support their learners. While parents often feel grounded in subject areas like math, reading, or history, or at least have good enough research skills to find helpful instructional videos online, many families feel out of their league when it comes to helping children strengthen their executive function skills, particularly in subjects that posed a challenge during in-person school terms. Quite simply, executive function skills are the skills we use to plan, organize, start, stay focused on, and complete a task. They are essential in every educational subject. The good news is that executive function skills are the same skills that adults employ to be successful in their lives and careers — which means that most parents have the aptitude to support their children as they develop these skills. And in fact, every student benefits from support with executive function skills during distance learning. One of the best ways of helping students strengthen executive function skills at home is by employing successful classroom management strategies.

Classroom management strategies are the procedures and guidelines that skillful teachers put in place in order to make instruction run smoothly; they are quite similar to executive function skills, but for a group of people instead of with one student in mind. Good classroom management systems take into account students’ needs in terms of learning space, resources, visual stimulation, bodily movement, time management, and self-monitoring. Because your child’s home learning space functions as a classroom space, classroom management considerations can help you and your child establish an optimal home learning setup.

The best way to identify which classroom management strategies your student needs help with is to have a conversation with them. Approach the initial discussion as a brainstorming session where all suggestions will be considered. Be open to listening to your student, and be willing to consider ideas they generate. If you are not sure whether an idea is feasible, agree to try it out for a trial period. It is essential for students to be deeply involved in this process, as it helps them build their executive function skills and increases their sense of agency and their investment in their learning.

Before School: Classroom Management Strategies

A good way to start the conversation is with the “Before.” These are the things that need to happen before the student starts school each morning. List the routines you can establish as a family to start the day successfully. What time must they be up to allow enough time for breakfast, getting dressed, getting ready? How can you build in some physical movement to help your child wake up and to give a sense of transition — is it possible to take a short, brisk walk together before class? If a walk is not possible, can you turn on some music and dance together before the school day begins? Then, make plans for what happens during learning breaks. If possible, try to eat lunch together; if not, let them know what the plan will be for lunch. Make sure your student knows how to get your attention if they need you during class. To the greatest extent possible, keep these routines and guidelines consistent from day to day.

During School: Classroom Management Strategies

Next, begin to talk about the “During.” Ask your child: What worked best for distance learning in the spring? What was really hard or could be improved upon? Are there things they wish would have happened differently?

As you plan for this year’s learning, one thing to discuss with your child is their spatial needs. If they often felt distracted with previous distance learning, take a good look at their workspace. Some older students might prefer working solo in their bedrooms, while some younger students might find it lonely. Also, some families have limited space, and having a quiet, private room with a door might not be possible. As a family, discuss what the options could be. Talk about the places where your student might learn best: At a desk? On the floor? In a comfortable chair? With younger children, setting up a yoga mat or beach towel allows them to move around during class within a defined boundary and camera range. Once you have established a learning setup, figure out how to optimize that setup for learning. If a student will be using their bedroom, discuss why it is important to make the bed each morning and to turn off and put away distractions like toys, TVs, and phones. Make sure the space is comfortable and sends a message that learning is happening there. Once you settle on a workspace, create guidelines for how other family members should use or avoid that room when the student is working.

Next, brainstorm the resources and supplies your student will need to have close by. If possible, consider a hard wired setup for your student’s computer in case the household WiFi lags, and get your student a headset with a microphone. Additionally, although your student is attending classes online, do not overlook the importance of physical supplies. Educational research demonstrates that most students learn better when they take notes by hand rather than when they type them. Maintaining a binder or notebook for each class, as they would during “regular” school times, helps many students stay grounded in the physical world and makes distance learning feel more “real.” Have your student help you choose supplies — pencils, pens, highlighters, crayons or colored pencils, maybe some stickers, the fun things they would buy in a normal year. We also recommend a small whiteboard with dry-erase markers, print copies of their books, and a water bottle to stay hydrated. A fancy custom storage system is not needed; a shoebox can hold the supplies, and your student can decorate it themselves if they’d like.

Visual needs are an especially important consideration with distance learning. While physical classrooms are often full of colorful, helpful and inspirational posters, learning online means that your student’s eyes are already absorbing a lot of stimulation. Eye strain is not just a problem for adults when staring at a screen for a long period of time — and anything over 20 minutes is a long time! Encourage your child to purposefully blink their eyes while online. Make sure their physical workspace is well lit. Together, decide whether posting a picture on a far wall or having a window view would give them something to look at to take a moment from focusing on their screen. If a student will be sitting at a table or desk, consider setting up a white trifold board in front of their workspace to help them stay focused. Some students benefit from posters on their board, such as printouts of their daily schedule and of the alphabet or the periodic table of elements. Some students thrive on personalizing the board, as they would a locker door. Others benefit simply from having a clean sea of white as a respite from the lights and noise online.

Physical needs during lessons are another topic to discuss with your student. If it is hard for them to sit still during synchronistic teaching, consider what you do to stay focused when you are at work. Can you teach them how to stretch in their chair? Can they drum their fingers on a pillow? Can they keep a fidget toy nearby that is soothing, but not distracting? Could you place a piece of stick-on velcro on the bottom of their desk or chair to run their fingers back and forth on? Can they rub their feet on a small textured mat? Would sitting on an exercise ball be better than sitting in a chair? Would a standing desk option by helpful?

Physical needs during breaks go hand in hand with physical needs during lessons. Make a list of physical activities and the places in your home where the activities can happen during scheduled breaks. Practice a few yoga poses until the student can do them independently; a few minutes in child’s pose helps most students quickly recenter. If one of your student’s scheduled breaks aligns with a time when you also can take a break, do a mini workout together. For some students, a few minutes alone listening to music may help them unwind. These activities are helpful not just during instructional breaks but during students’ independent work time, as they help the student break big blocks of time into manageable segments. Because students already are spending so much time online, encourage them to avoid break time activities that require a screen.

Just as physical note taking can help students stay focused and rooted in the moment, so can self-monitoring their learning. If they are listening to prerecorded lessons, encourage them to develop a habit of stopping the video occasionally, thinking about what they just heard, and stating it out loud and/or summarizing it in their notes. Younger children can teach what they are learning to a favorite stuffed toy sitting nearby. If a student struggles to recall important information or summarize the lesson effectively, they might need more support learning that particular concept.

After School: Classroom Management Strategies

After discussing the “Before” and the “During,” it is time to discuss the “After.” No matter where the workspace is, decide how your child will “close shop” at the end of the day. Where will materials be stored? Where will their device be charged? What transitional routines will help them to change the space from a learning space back to a home space?

Once you have used classroom management strategies to establish a workspace and some routines and guidelines, set a schedule for checking in with your student. Some students need a daily debriefing, while for others, every few days will work. Ask them open-ended questions and give them time to form their thoughts. Some questions might be:

What is working well in your workspace?
What changes do you think you need to make?
Are you able to manage the LMS (Learning Management System, i.e. Google Classroom, Canvas) the teacher is using?
Is there anything you want to ask your teacher or share with your teacher? Do you know how to reach the teacher? Have you reached out to the teacher? Have they responded?
Are you able to pay attention during instruction? What might make it easier to pay attention?
Do you need any new supplies?
What did you learn in reading? In math? In science?

Continue to observe what classroom management strategies are working for your student and which ones are not. Be sure to give them specific feedback when you see them using a strategy that is successful. Reach out to their teacher, or help them reach out to the teacher themselves, if you see them struggling. Be as specific as possible when describing your concern. Be open to the teacher’s suggestions and bring them to your next family brainstorming session. Post the day/time for that session on a family calendar where the student can find it easily. The important message your child needs to hear is that they can grow their executive function skills by trying new strategies and by reflecting on what works for them as a learner. With these improved skills, they will find more success in school not just this year but in the challenges that await them farther into the future.

Written by Maggie Sisti, M.Ed. and National Board Certified Teacher, who is a classroom teacher in a large, high performing school district in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. She has been supporting her own four kids and 30+ years of students with developing and enhancing executive function skills inside and outside of the classroom.

Does My Child Need An IEP?

September 6, 2020 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

This is a question that doesn’t always have a quick answer. An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) provides specialized instruction so that a student can access the general education curriculum. Prior to beginning the IEP process a number of things need to be considered.

If your school follows a standards-based curriculum, how is your child progressing? Is your child meeting the standards for their grade level with minimal support during and after the school day? If so, it is likely that beginning the IEP process is not warranted.
Is your child accessing the general education instruction in their classroom with accommodations in place? Is he/she meeting standards with these accommodations in place? If so, then consideration of a 504 Plan is worthwhile.
If your child is struggling academically, have you and your child’s classroom teacher(s) identified the specific areas of concern? Have concrete instructional strategies and interventions that can be implemented in the classroom and at home over a set period of time been identified (Response to Intervention [RTI])? What was the outcome? Did your child make the progress expected? If so, continue to identify effective strategies and implement them at school and at home. If your child did not make progress toward or achieve their goals, despite excellent instruction and on-target strategies, it may be time to begin the IEP process.

The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Process

Prior to developing an IEP the student must be identified as having an educational disability. Parents are part of the team that addresses the question “does this student have an educational disability?” Other members of the team are usually comprised of a school-system psychologist, the child’s teacher(s), a special educator and often a school administrator. The team determines if they suspect the child has an educational disability and if further assessment is needed.

Generally, the team identifies questions that should be answered as part of the assessment process. Common questions might be:

What is the current level of STUDENT’S intellectual functioning?
What is the current level of STUDENT’S academic functioning?
How does STUDENT’S current level of intellectual and academic functioning impact their ability to access the general education curriculum without specialized instruction?

If the assessments and answers to these questions indicated that an educational disability is present, then the disability will be identified and the next step will be to develop an IEP. The IEP includes the current intellectual functioning and academic data. This information drives the identification of the goals and objectives which make up the heart of the document. The intensity of the support/intervention needed to meet the goals and objectives will determine the amount of service a student requires. This can range from 5 minutes a day to a full-day of specialized instruction.

Parents are often concerned about the stigma of their child receiving special education instruction. However, depending upon the structure of your child’s school and program, this intervention can be delivered seamlessly. As a special education teacher, administrator and consultant, I often ask parents, “If your child had significant allergies and they impacted their ability to do well in school, wouldn’t you intervene? If your child needed glasses, wouldn’t you provide them?” Almost everyone responds, “Absolutely.” This same response should be strongly considered if your child legitimately qualifies for special education support.

By Laurie Gross, Educational Consultant and Reading Specialist.

ACT Essay Section: It’s Manageable!

June 1, 2020 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

In 2015, the ACT essay section was revised to include more challenging writing prompts. And yet, as a tutor for the ACT, I find the revised format provides more ways to simplify the writing process. Every essay that a student writes for the ACT requires taking a position on a topic, providing examples, and coming to a clear conclusion.

The most important strategy to impart is teaching students a format to write the argumentative essay in 5 paragraphs:

Introductory paragraph with a clear thesis
Example in support of one’s thesis
Example in support of one’s thesis
Example anticipating the opposition to one’s thesis
Clear and decisive conclusion.

The challenging part is getting students to invent excellent examples.

As a tutor, I ask my students to brainstorm examples from their own personal lives, and connect the point they argue to History, Philosophy, Politics, and Current Events. Some of these examples are great, others don’t make the connections necessary to support the thesis. Ah, but there’s hope!

The NEW ACT essay prompt provides the thesis and examples for the students. What’s great about this new format is that the guesswork of how to structure the essay and what kind of examples to give are now EMBEDDED INTO THE PROMPT. In other words, there is one less step for students to take.

Instead of inventing perspectives, students are given them and asked to respond to differing viewpoints.

Albeit while this may make the task of writing an ACT essay less organic and creative, the new essay format provides a framework simplifying the task of writing the argumentative essay considerably.

Just ask yourself, which task you’d rather respond to:

To argue both sides of a point and produce 3+ excellent examples including ones with which you do not agree.

To be given three opinions (perspectives), rewrite and examine these opinions, and choose one you support the most using the ideas for examples given by the prompt?

Prepping for this essay will be less arduous. With a strong outline and applied practice there’s no reason not to earn a strong score.

While there is more writing on the page, which perhaps makes the ACT essay task appear overwhelming, it’s really quite manageable. All of this information helps by laying the groundwork for the essay and outlining what is to come.

Want to practice?

By Grant Bergland, MFA and Private Tutor