Secondary Thinking Skills

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Secondary Thinking Skills

• Douglas Fisher
• www.fisherandfrey.com

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Review

• To review the components of the Gradual Release
  of Responsibility Model and integrate technical
  terminology for those components into our
  speaking vocabulary
• Focus - purpose and modeling
• Guided - strategic use of cues, prompts, and
  questions
• Collaborative - productive group work
• Independent - both in-class and out-of-class
  application

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TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY
I do it
Focus Lesson
Guided Instruction
We do it
You do it together
Collaborative
You do it alone
Independent
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY
A Structure for Instruction that Works
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Collaborative Task

• Conversational Roundtable
• Take notes as you read in one of the boxes
• When others share their perspectives, take notes
  in a corresponding box

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21st Century Skills

• Develop proficiency with the tools of technology
• Build relationships with others to pose and solve
  problems collaboratively and cross-culturally
• Design and share information for global
  communities to meet a variety of purposes
• Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams
  of simultaneous information
• Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate
  multi-media texts and
• Attend to the ethical responsibilities required
  by these complex environments (NCTE, 2009, p.
  15).

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Engage and Interact
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What do these words mean?
en ___________________________
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What do these words mean?
inter _________________________
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Whats the difference?

• Engagement vs. Interaction

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Engagement

• to engage to attract, hold fast, occupy
  attention of another or oneself
• en to cause a person to be in(a state,
  condition, place)
• gage (archaic) a pledge, a challenge, deposit
• Spanish translation ocupar
• Synonyms captivate, charm, employ, enthrall,
  involve, join, practice

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Interact

• interact to act one upon another, to have some
  effect on each other
• inter among, between, mutually, reciprocally
• act to do something, exert energy or force,
  produce an effect
• Spanish translation relacionarse (interaction
  acción recíproca)
• Synonyms communicate, collaborate, cooperate,
  combine, connect

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Engagement or Interaction?

• Which tasks are designed to promote student
  engagement?
• Which tasks are designed to promote
  student-to-student interaction?
• Create your own engaging task along with a
  variation that promotes student-to-student
  interaction.

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What does it take?

• What does it take to make a task engaging and
  interactive?

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What does it take to make a task engaging and
interactive?

• Enough background knowledge to have something to
  say.
• Language support to know how to say it.
• Topic of interest.
• An authentic reason to interact.
• Expectation of interaction.
• Accountability for interaction.
• Established community of learners that encourage
  and support each other.

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What does it take to make a task engaging and
interactive?

• Understanding of the task.
• Knowledge of the norms of interaction.
• Understanding of the benefits of collaborative
  work.
• Feedback from teacher and peers.
• Metacognitive awareness and self-reflection.

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Interaction Involves Talk
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Creating Thinking

• Essential questions
• Competencies
• Academic recovery
• Culture of Excellence

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Essential Questions for 08-09

• Schoolwide and different each year
• Students incorporate learning from across content
  areas to construct essays or presentations
• Quarter 1 What sustains us?
• Quarter 2 If we can, should we?
• Quarter 3 Does age matter?
• Quarter 4 Can you buy your way to happiness?

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Student Excerpt Strong Writer

• What sustains us? My whole life
  Ive heard it said that we dont live alone. This
  made me think about exactly what we need to
  survive and have a high quality life. Do we
  really need the materials things that we live
  with every day? When you thoughtfully answer this
  question, its interesting to see what actually
  does sustain you. What is your sustenance, the
  items and things that you need to live? What
  sustain you or keeps you going? For individuals,
  the specific things or emotions that sustain each
  one of us will differ from person to person. The
  needs of society are on a greater scale and
  differ from those of a single human. There are
  also two categories of sustenance, physical, what
  you need to survive and function, and emotional,
  what makes life worthwhile. All these aspects of
  this question will make the answer unique for
  each person or society that answers it.

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Student Excerpt Struggling Writer

• When I was I child I would always
  think like. What would sustain us all so much? So
  I would go around and ask everybody that I know
  and ask them what do you think? They would tell
  me so many things that I had already knew but. I
  had fleet like there was still something I had
  still had wanted to know or find out. Like what
  really sustains us all? So I had deiced to go and
  looked around and what I would see was that I had
  seen everybody doing something like. They would
  be going to go to work or I would see some kids
  playing. I would also see some familys just
  spending time together like they would be talking
  so much and laugh so much. And now I would go to
  a good place so I would be able to think. Like
  what really sustained us all? So now I would know
  that the thing that sustains us all is.
  Physically so now I know that physically
  sustained us all but the question is why or what
  does it sustain us all.

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• In our society, age is often used as a way to
  measure ones maturity and capability of handling
  increased responsibility. In Neverland, age
  signifies the difference between the youthful
  Peter Pan and his Lost Boys and their aging
  counterparts, Captain Hook and his pirates. In
  the real world, it is difficult to forget that
  age is inevitable. However, J.M. Barrie, the
  author of Peter Pan, imagined a world where the
  process of aging did not exist. In this world,
  Neverland that is, Peter Pan and the Lost Boys
  exemplify eternal youth, while Captain Hook and
  his pirates represent the effects of time and the
  process of growing older. Much like the pirates
  of Neverland, we too are affected by the aging
  process, and unlike Peter and Lost Boys, we grow
  older with every waking moment. Instead of
  viewing age as a negative aspect to our lives, as
  does Peter Pan, I see it as an opportunity to
  gain knowledge, respect, and wisdom.

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Competencies

• Examine content standards
• Determine the ways in which students can
  demonstrate mastery through oral and written
  language
• Consider the approximate time needed for
  instruction
• Can serve as benchmarks
• Students who do not meet competencies?

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Competencies for English 9 and 10

• Fall Competencies
• Literacy letters
• Essential Question essay What sustains us?
• Oral language (retelling and dramatic monologue)
• Persuasive techniques
• Essential Question essay If we can, should we?
• Spring Competencies
• Literacy letters
• Essential question essay Does age matter?
• Summarizing
• Poetry
• Essential Question presentation Can you buy your
  way to happiness?

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Literacy Letter Competency

• Weekly letter to teacher on book of their choice
• Inspired by Atwells (2007) letter-essays
• Cause students to examine their rationale for
  choosing (or abandoning) a title
• Frey, N., Fisher, D., Moore, K. (in press).
  Literacy letters Comparative literature and
  formative assessment. ALAN Review,

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Structure of the Literacy Letter

• Written as a friendly letter
• 3 paragraphs
• 1st Summary and update on plot
• 2nd focus on the weeks instruction (literary
  element, grammar and conventions, etc.)
• 3rd Rate the reading and literary critique

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Examples of 2nd Paragraph Prompts

• List of 5 sentences in your book where a
  transitional word is being used.
• The setting of a book can be very important to
  understanding what is happening. There is a
  reason why the author chooses a particular
  setting. Choosing an alternative setting could
  greatly affect what the characters do and say.
• In your letter this week please write about the
  authors purpose. Why do you think the author
  wrote this book? Some reasons authors write are
  to inform or teach, entertain, persuade, or
  convince. Use direct quotations and page numbers
  to support your answer.

Frey, N., Fisher, D., Moore, K. (in press).
Literacy letters Comparative literature and
formative assessment. ALAN Review,
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Academic Recovery

• lt70 Incomplete (no D or F)
• Academic recovery plan developed (full-time staff
  member coordinates)
• Liaison between student and family
• Reduce lunch by 50 (from 60 to 30 minutes)
• Schedule tutorials
• Retake competencies
• At grading period, students with incompletes are
  removed from extra-curricular activities
• Summer - extended school year

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Culture of Excellence
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Hardwiring Excellence
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Its About the Faculty Staff

• Employees want three things
• They want to believe that the organization has
  the right purpose.
• They want to know that their job is worthwhile.
• They want to make a difference.

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Employees . . .

• dont leave their jobs, they leave their bosses
  or the environment.

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Leaders Ask

• How do we motivate staff to create a world class
  education for each and every student?
• What is the role for each staff member in
  creating a world class education?
• Are the right people in place?
• Does the staff understand what were trying to
  accomplish?
• ESTABLISH GOALS FOR EACH PILLAR

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Pillar 1 Achievement

• Expectations for yearly gains
• Common formative assessments
• Feedback loops

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Pillar 2 Climate

• Cleanliness
• Food quality
• Interactions with peers
• Openness of admin
• Turnover
• Satisfaction

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Pillar 3 Safety

• Campus security
• Emergency prep
• Egress
• Telephones

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Pillar 4 Finance

• Enrollment
• Attendance
• Grants
• Donations/gifts

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Must Do 1

• Rounding
• What is working well today?
• Are there any individuals whom I should be
  recognizing?
• Is there anything we can do better?
• Do you have the tools and equipment to do your
  job?

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Must Do 2

• Manage Up
• Introductions
• Credentials
• Harvest the wins
• Eliminate we/they
• Thats not the . I know

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Must Do 3

• The Culture of Appreciation
• Recognition
• Thank you notes
• Notice the behaviors youre looking for

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Must Do 4

• Service Recovery
• Acknowledge the problem
• Apologize
• Do not manage down the organization or another
  person
• Make it right as soon as possible
• Let the person know you make it right

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Case of the Missing iPod
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Must Do 5

• Honest Performance Reviews
• Linked to pillars
• Feed up
• Feed back
• Feed forward

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The Thirds

• H High performing
• M Medium performing
• L Low performing
• With feedback, the gap between the high and
  medium performers and those who are low
  performing widens . . .

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The Wall
H
The Wall
H
M
H
M
M
L
L
L
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Moving the High Performers

• Tell them where the organization is going
• Thank them for their work
• Outline why they are important
• Ask if there is anything you can do for them

H
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Moving the Middle Performers

• Reassure them that the goal is their retention
• S Support Describe good qualities
• C Coach Identify development opportunity
• S Support Reaffirm good qualities

M
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Moving the Low Performers

• Do not start the conversation on a positive note
• D Describe Describe what has been observed
• E Evaluate Evaluate how you feel
• S Show Show what needs to be done
• K Know Know the consequences of the same
  performance

L
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Thoughts on Low Performers

• They know it
• A school is not a rehabilitation center for
  wayward staff
• They impact the culture, and thus the
  achievement, of the school
• Change behavior first, understanding and attitude
  will follow

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Must Do 6

• Re-recruitment
• High performers will leave if not recognized and
  if they dont think things will get better
• Middle performers will leave if not supported
• Is there anything that might cause you to think
  about leaving?

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The Wall
H
The Wall
H
M
H
M
M
L
L
L
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Is Your School Performing?

• As a custodian said, the fish starts rotting at
  the head.
• Results will come through the systemic
  application of the must do ideas
• Connect these results back to purpose, worthwhile
  work, and making a difference - this is the true
  motivation!

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Together, we have to create great groups

• Organizing Genius The Secrets of Creative
  Collaboration by Warren Bennis Patricia Ward
  Biederman (1997, Addison-Wesley Publishing).
• 1992 Clinton campaign, Disney, Xerox, Manhattan
  Project

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Great groups

• People in great groups have blinders on.
• Great groups are optimistic, not realistic.
• In great groups, the right person has the right
  job.

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Great groups

• Greatness starts with superb people.
• Great groups and great leaders create each other.
• Every great group has a strong leader.

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Great groups

• Leaders of great groups love talent and know
  where to find it.
• Great groups are full of talented people who can
  work together.
• Great groups think they are on a mission.

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Great groups

• Every great group is an island - but an island
  with bridges to the mainland.
• Great groups see themselves as winning underdogs.
• Great groups always have an enemy.

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Great groups

• Leaders of great groups give people what they
  need and free them from the rest.
• Great groups ship.
• Great work is its own reward.