Profiling Student Engagement in the Classroom

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Profiling Student Engagement in the Classroom

• Jennifer Aldred Berry, Ph.D.
• Principal Consultant for Teacher and Organization
  Development
• West 40 ISC 2
• PBIS Summer Leadership Conference Keys to
  Success Sustainability
• August 5, 2008

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Ever have one of those schools days?
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To Accomplish

• Examples Discussion
• 2 Mental Images
• Background Information on IPI
• Observation Rubric
• Protocol
• More Examples
• Long Term Possibilities
• Biggest Take Aways
• Q A Discussion

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Examples
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Observation 1

• As you walk into the 8th grade social studies
  classroom two students are standing at the
  teachers desk getting help with their social
  studies assignment. Twelve to fifteen students
  are working quietly at their desks on the
  assignment. As you walk around the room you can
  tell that all of those students are answering
  recall questions from the back of the chapter.
  There are four girls in the back left side of the
  room talking quietly about some freshman boys
  they met over the weekend. When you leave the
  room after a couple of minutes, all the students
  are still doing the same thing as when you
  entered the room.
  12

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Observation 1

• As you walk into the 8th grade social studies
  classroom two students are standing at the
  teachers desk getting help with their social
  studies assignment. Twelve to fifteen students
  are working quietly at their desks on the
  assignment. As you walk around the room you can
  tell that all of those students are answering
  recall questions from the back of the chapter.
  There are four girls in the back left side of the
  room talking quietly about some freshman boys
  they met over the weekend. When you leave the
  room after a couple of minutes, all the students
  are still doing the same thing as when you
  entered the room.
  12

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Observation 2

• As you walk into a third grade class, you notice
  each student working quietly at his/her desk. As
  you look at what they are working on you realize
  they are authoring poems. The teacher is moving
  quietly among them, reading their work. After
  observing this for a couple of minutes, you
  notice that the teacher begins to help some of
  the students and eventually moves around the room
  and visits quietly with each student. You are in
  the room about 3 minutes. 15

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Observation 2

• As you walk into a third grade class, you notice
  each student working quietly at his/her desk. As
  you look at what they are working on you realize
  they are authoring poems. The teacher is moving
  quietly among them, reading their work. After
  observing this for a couple of minutes, you
  notice that the teacher begins to help some of
  the students and eventually moves around the room
  and visits quietly with each student. You are in
  the room about 3 minutes. 15

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Observation 3

• As you walk into the classroom, the teacher is
  giving directions about how to complete a math
  worksheet. The students are being told to answer
  the first ten items. They begin working on the
  problems and as they do the teacher moves among
  them, looking over their shoulders at their work
  and stopping briefly with one student who is
  having difficulty. The teacher continues to move
  among the students and help them throughout the 1
  minute you are in the room. 1

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Observation 3

• As you walk into the classroom, the teacher is
  giving directions about how to complete a math
  worksheet. The students are being told to answer
  the first ten items. They begin working on the
  problems and as they do the teacher moves among
  them, looking over their shoulders at their work
  and stopping briefly with one student who is
  having difficulty. The teacher continues to move
  among the students and help them throughout the 1
  minute you are in the room. 1

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Observation 4

• As you walk into a middle school classroom
  about 20 minutes into the period, you have to
  step between the teacher and another teacher,
  both of whom are standing in the doorway talking.
  You notice that the students are also visiting.
  About a minute later the teacher moves into the
  room and tells her students to move to their
  previously assigned small groups for discussion
  of issues related to a short story they read the
  previous day. The teacher asks a complex what
  if question and allows them time to formulate
  answers. You were there 2 minutes. 13

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Observation 4

• As you walk into a middle school classroom
  about 20 minutes into the period, you have to
  step between the teacher and another teacher,
  both of whom are standing in the doorway talking.
  You notice that the students are also visiting.
  About a minute later the teacher moves into the
  room and tells her students to move to their
  previously assigned small groups for discussion
  of issues related to a short story they read the
  previous day. The teacher asks a complex what
  if question and allows them time to formulate
  answers. You were there 2 minutes. 13

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Its all a matter of perspective, really!
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Is it feasible to develop a school-wide picture
of student learning that can serve as the basis
for faculty reflection, instructional change, and
school improvement?
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• How do you collect data that will be accepted by
  faculty as a fair and accurate representation of
  student learning throughout the school?
• How do you depict those data in a simple,
  meaningful format for analysis?
• How do you engage all faculty members in study
  and reflection about the data that will lead to
  improved instructional practices throughout the
  school?
• How do you use the data to document enhanced
  learning experiences for all students?

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• students would be better served
• if educators embraced learning rather than
  teaching as the mission of their school,
• if they worked collaboratively to help all
  students learn,
• and if they used formative assessments and a
  focus on results to guide
• their practice and foster continuous
  improvement.
• (DuFour, R. et. al., 2005, p. 5)

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Instructional Practices Inventory

• Developing an optimum profile of student engaged
  learning for teacher analysis and reflection.

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Two Mental Images

• A room full of faculty members seated
  around tables talking about the instructional
  practices that go on at their school
• A small group of people walking around a
  particular school collecting fair and reliable
  data regarding student engagement.

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Background Information

• Collecting, analyzing and using data to document
  enhanced learning,
• Engaging ALL faculty in study and reflection of
  this data
• Were the basis for developing the IPI in 1996.

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Focus on the Process!

• For profiling student engaged learning
• For understanding learning across an entire
  school and
• For providing one form of data valuable when a
  school faculty begins the critical conversations.

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Focus on the Process!

• Educators must focus on student learning
• Teachers must be allotted consistent time to
  study and reflect collaboratively and
• Formative data are essential to monitor and
  adjust practices.

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IPI CategoriesHigher Order Learning

• 6 Student Active Engaged Learning
• Higher-Order Learning
• Typically students doing authentic, hands-on,
  problem-based, research, etc. forms of learning
• 5Student Learning Conversations
• Higher-Order Learning
• Typically conversations among students who are
  constructing knowledge together

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IPI CategoriesDirect Instruction and Student
Supervised Work

• 4Teacher-Led Instruction
• Students attentive to teacher leading the
  learning experience
• Typically students listening to teacher share,
  explain, give directions, etc.
• 3Student Work with Teacher Involved
• Students working individually or in groups with
  teacher support evident
• Typically students doing worksheets, answering
  questions, taking tests

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IPI CategoriesStudent Independent Work and
Disengagement

• 2Student Work w/o Teacher Involved
• Students working individually or in groups with
  teacher support not evident (independent work)
• Typically students doing worksheets, answering
  questions, taking tests
• 1Students Not Engaged in Learning the Curriculum
• Students are not engaged with the curriculum
• Typically students talking, inattentive,
  misbehaving, etc.

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IPI Protocols for Data Collection

• Data observations on typical days
• Systematically move from classroom to classroom
  based upon the floor plan of the school
• Focus on students, not the teacher
• Code student learning during first moments of
  observation
• When observation is borderline between two codes,
  select higher code

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IPI Protocols for Data Collection

• Code during regular learning time, not
  transitions between content areas
• Classrooms of special education and student
  teachers are observed and coded
• Classrooms of substitute teachers are coded and
  included in profile if higher-order learning
• Observations are anonymous

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IPI Example 1

• As the observer enters the science classroom, the
  students are listening attentively to the teacher
  give them directions for the acid-base litmus
  experiment they will begin in a few minutes.
  Most of the students are making a few notes in
  their notebooks while the teacher explains the
  process.
• Which of the IPI categories should be coded for
  this example?

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IPI Example 1

• As the observer enters the science classroom, the
  students are listening attentively to the teacher
  give them directions for the acid-base litmus
  experiment they will begin in a few minutes.
  Most of the students are making a few notes in
  their notebooks while the teacher explains the
  process.
• IPI Code Category 4Teacher-Led Instruction

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IPI Example 2

• As the observer enters the language arts
  classroom, the students are creating (original)
  poems. The teacher is moving among the students
  encouraging them as they work.
• Which of the IPI categories should be coded for
  this example?

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IPI Example 2

• As the observer enters the language arts
  classroom, the students are creating (original)
  poems. The teacher is moving among the students
  encouraging them as they work.
• IPI Code Category 6Student Active Engaged
  Learning

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IPI Example 3

• As you enter a freshman English class, all the
  students are seated in groups of four and five.
  You walk over to the students and listen to the
  discussions. It is evident that they are
  discussing why Romeo and Juliet was considered a
  tragedy. You quietly talk with several of them
  and each confirms what you assumed. The teacher
  was seated at her desk, silently reading the play
  to herself. You were in there for three minutes.
• Which of the IPI categories should be coded for
  this example?

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IPI Example 3

• As you enter a freshman English class, all the
  students are seated in groups of four and five.
  You walk over to the students and listen to the
  discussions. It is evident that they are
  discussing why Romeo and Juliet was considered a
  tragedy. You quietly talk with several of them
  and each confirms what you assumed. The teacher
  was seated at her desk, silently reading the play
  to herself. You were in there for three minutes.
• IPI Code Category 5Student Learning
  Conversations

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IPI Example 4

• As you enter the classroom, you notice the third
  graders are taking a map (geography) test. As you
  look at the test you note that it seems to be
  worded by students rather than by a teacher. You
  ask the teacher about the test and you learn that
  the students and the teacher jointly developed
  the test yesterday. The students are writing
  their answers on an answer sheet, matching
  locations and facts. As the students work, the
  teacher moves among them, answering questions and
  encouraging the students, but not giving answers.
  
• Which of the IPI categories should be coded for
  this example?

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IPI Example 4

• As you enter the classroom, you notice the third
  graders are taking a map (geography) test. As you
  look at the test you note that it seems to be
  worded by students rather than by a teacher. You
  ask the teacher about the test and you learn that
  the students and the teacher jointly developed
  the test yesterday. The students are writing
  their answers on an answer sheet, matching
  locations and facts. As the students work, the
  teacher moves among them, answering questions and
  encouraging the students, but not giving answers.
• IPI Code Category 3Student Work with Teacher
  Engaged

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So weve got the data! Now what?
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Faculty Discussion andCritical Reflection

• What can we learn about our current practices
  from the IPI data?
• What do we see in the data profiles that we can
  feel good about or celebrate?
• What do we see in the data profiles that we
  should be concerned about and thus study and
  discuss more deeply?

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What should we do next?

• Should we collect additional IPI data?
• Will additional data may help us understand our
  pattern of engaged learning over time?
• Might additional data help us identify changes in
  our profiles?
• Could additional data allow us to reflect on our
  trends and consider goals for change and growth?

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• Goal Increase higher order learning experiences
  for students, reduce disengagement, seatwork,
  worksheets and non-HOTS experiences!

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
F1 /- Issues school wide commitment
Percentages
Sept 07 Dec 07 April 08 Sept 08 Dec 08 April
09
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• Goal Increase higher order learning experiences
  for students, reduce disengagement, seatwork,
  worksheets and non-HOTS experiences!

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
F1 /- Issues school wide commitment
F2 Deeper level of best practice what valuable
strategies we use for 2/3 then 5/6
Percentages
Sept 07 Dec 07 April 08 Sept 08 Dec 08 April
09
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• Goal Increase higher order learning experiences
  for students, reduce disengagement, seatwork,
  worksheets and non-HOTS experiences!

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
F1 /- Issues school wide commitment
F2 Deeper level of best practice what valuable
strategies we use for 2/3 then 5/6
Percentages
Sept 07 Dec 07 April 08 Sept 08 Dec 08 April
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F3 Establish goals for IPI data, ie. Weve been
at ___ 5/6, do we want to sit here or kick it up
a notch?
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• Goal Increase higher order learning experiences
  for students, reduce disengagement, seatwork,
  worksheets and non-HOTS experiences!

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
Categories 5 6
Percentages
Sept 07 Dec 07 April 08 Sept 08 Dec 08 April
09
Categories 2 3
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Biggest Take Aways

• Create the same language
• Focus on student engagement
• What is fair versus best practices
• Foster trust in the process
• Respect the protocol
• This is ONLY a toolthe real change is in the
  conversations that result from having used the
  tool!

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Thank you for your time and consideration. For
further questions, please call Jennifer Aldred
Berry, Ph.D.
Website www.west40.org Email jaberry_at_west40.org
Phone [phone]