Missouri School Improvement Program Fourth Cycle Observation Form St. Louis City Public Schools Nove

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Missouri School Improvement Program Fourth
Cycle Observation FormSt. Louis City Public
Schools November 15, 2007
Margie Vandeven, Director Accountability Data
and Accreditation margie.vandeven_at_dese.mo.gov
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Describe three people, items, and/or activities
you notice in this photo, and explain why you
think each stands out to you.
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Purpose of informal observation

• To provide the team with strategies for using an
  informal observation approach and data collection
  to inform reflective feedback on the prevailing
  instructional practices utilized in the district.

4

• Classroom Presence
• Professional/courteous
• Spend enough time to gather data (10-15 min)
• Talk with students when necessary/possible
• Review lesson plan
• Move to next room

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Classroom Instruction that WorksNine categories
ofinstructional strategies
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Instructional Delivery Methods

• Lecture Delivery of information to a group by
  the teacher
• teacher-controlled
• Question and Answer An expression of inquiry
  that calls for a reply
• an accountability tool
• Class Discussion Dialogue among students and
  teacher
• Open-ended questions are used and students are
  encouraged to ask questions of each other
• Guided Practice Teacher-led short activities
  with students attempting the task at hand
• The teacher must closely monitor what the
  students are doing to see that the instruction
  has "taken." Mistakes need to be corrected if
  seen by the teacher

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Instructional Delivery Methods

• Cooperative Learning Students working together
  as partners or in structured small teams on
  clearly defined learning tasks
• Students may be responsible for each other's
  learning and are held individually accountable
  for the groups success. Examples include
  think-pair-share, round robin, jigsaw,
  inside/outside circle, etc.
• Group Work Students working together in partners
  or small groups
• Groups of students sitting together doing their
  own work who are free to talk with each other as
  they work
• Groups of students completing a project together
  without clear identification of roles
• Hands-on/experiments/laboratory work
  Instructional activities that include both
  content and process promoting student discussion
• Peer evaluation Instructional activities, such
  as peer review, peer assessment, peer tutoring,
  and peer editing, designed to give students real
  responsibility to assess and provide feedback
•  

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Instructional Delivery Methods

• Learning Centers Designated classroom areas
  where students partake in specific learning
  activities
• Distance Learning Usually involves a situation
  in which the teacher and students are separated
  by time, location, or both
• It can be used to supplement or enhance
  curriculum and assessment through
  real-time electronic field trips or
  videoconferencing, to deliver and/or
  receive courses in real time from remote sites,
  or to take online courses.
• Seat Work Worksheets or textbook reading
  assigned for individual practice or study
• Student presentations Students present
  projects, experiences, or discoveries to their
  classmates in a formal setting

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Instructional Strategies

• Advance Organizer An instructional unit that is
  used before direct instruction or before a new
  topic to prepare students for what they are about
  to learn allows the learner to recall and
  transfer prior knowledge to the new information
  being presented in the lesson
• Graphic Organizer a visual communication tool
  using symbols to convey meaning, express ideas,
  or depict relationships between facts, terms, and
  or ideas within a learning task
• May be referred to as knowledge maps, concept
  maps, story maps, cognitive organizers, or
  concept diagrams.
• Nonlinguistic representations Students acquire
  and retain knowledge through visual imagery,
  kinesthetic activity, auditory experiences, and
  so forth. Students may create concept maps, idea
  webs, dramatizations, or computer simulations to
  represent their thinking.
• Problem-based/Project-based learning A teaching
  method that requires students to use knowledge
  and skills they have acquired or need to develop
  to solve a real-world problem through an extended
  inquiry process

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Instructional Strategies

• Research-generating and testing hypotheses
  Students make predictions or draw conclusions and
  explain their thinking as they test and generate
  hypotheses.
• Similarities or differences Students identify
  similarities and differences using or creating
  comparisons, classifications, metaphors, or
  analogies.
• Summarizing/note-taking Students learn to
  identify the most important aspects of what they
  are learning by taking notes or summarizing
  material.

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Students are evaluating text from two sources
in small groups.Directions-Examine both a
non-curricular article and curriculum-based text
to compare and contrast ideas. -Transfer the
similarities and differences of ideas onto Venn
diagrams.-Make oral presentations explaining
your groups Venn diagram.
Instructional Activity Example
Baleen Whales
Toothed Whales
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Depth of Knowledge (DOK)

• Norman Webbs alignment system
• Categorical Concurrence --- measures the extent
  to which the same or consistent categories of
  content appear in the standards and the
  assessments.
• Depth-of-Knowledge Consistency --- measures the
  degree to which the knowledge elicited from
  students on the assessment is as complex within
  the context area as what students are expected to
  know and do as stated in the standards.
• Range-of-Knowledge Correspondence --- determines
  whether the span of knowledge expected of
  students on the basis of a standard corresponds
  to the span of knowledge that students need in
  order to correctly answer the corresponding
  assessment items/activities. 
• Balance of Representation --- measures whether
  objectives that fall under a specific standard
  are given relatively equal emphasis on the
  assessment.
• Source of Challenge --- determines whether the
  primary difficulty of the assessment items is
  significantly related to students knowledge and
  skill in the content area as represented in the
  standards.

• Adapted from pages 4-5 36 of Web Alignment Tool
  (WAT) Training Manual
• http//www.wcer.wisc.edu/wat/Training20Manual202
  .120Draft20091205.doc

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Depth of Knowledge Consistency

• Measures the degree to which the knowledge
  elicited from students on assessments is as
  complex as what students are expected to know and
  do as stated in the curriculum/GLEs/Show-Me
  Standards

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Depth of Knowledge

• "The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire
  to be kindled."
• On Listening to Lectures (Plutarch)

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http//www.wcer.wisc.edu/wat/TILSA20Dissemination
20Webb20presentation20for20Training2020July
202420202005.ppt286,12,Slide 12
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Expectations for Student Performance
Acquire
Use
Extend
Skill/Concept
Recall
Strategic Thinking
Extended Thinking
Memorize
Perform Procedures
Demonstrate Understanding
Conjecture, Generalize Prove
Solve non- routine/ make connections
Memorize
Conduct Investigations
Communicate Understanding
Analyze Information
Apply concepts /make connections
Recall
Demonstrate /Explain
Analyze/ Investigate
Evaluate
Generate /Create
Dr. Bonita Potter, Office of Academic Education
Mississippi http//www.mde.k12.ms.us/CIpresentati
on.ppt327,30,Slide 30
This information is adapted from Webb, Norman L.,
Research Monograph No. 8, Criteria for Alignment
of Expectations and Assessments in Mathematics
and Science Education, Council of Chief State
School Officers, 1997.
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BLOOMS TAXONOMY
WEBBS DOK
RECALL Recall of a fact, information, or
procedure (e.g., What are 3 critical skill cues
for the overhand throw?)
KNOWLEDGE / REMEMBERING The recall of specifics
and universals, involving little more than
bringing to mind the appropriate material
COMPREHENSION / UNDERSTANDING Ability to process
knowledge on a low level such that the knowledge
can be reproduced or communicated without a
verbatim repetition.
APPLICATION / APPLYING Using information in
another familiar situation.
SKILL/CONCEPT Use of information, conceptual
knowledge, procedures, two or more steps, etc.
ANALYSIS / ANALYSING Breaking information into
parts to explore understandings and
relationships.
STRATEGIC THINKING Requires reasoning, developing
a plan or sequence of steps has some complexity
more than one possible answer

• SYNTHESIS and EVALUATION /
• EVALUATING and CREATING
• Putting together elements parts to form a
  whole, then making value judgments about the
  method.

   EXTENDED THINKING Requires an investigation
time to think and process multiple conditions of
the problem or task.
Wyoming School Health and Physical Education
Network (2001).  Standards, Assessment, and
Beyond.  Retrieved May 25, 2006, from
http//www.uwyo.edu/wyhpenet
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Level 1 (Recall and Reproduction) Examples

• Language Arts Which of these means about the
  same thing as the word exacerbate?
• Science What is the process called which plants
  use to manufacture sugar from sunlight?
• Mathematics Which of the following numbers,
  when rounded to the nearest thousand, becomes
  90,000?
• Social Studies What was the main reason many
  leaders in Great Britain leaned toward supporting
  the Confederacy in the Civil War?

http//www.mde.k12.ms.us/CIpresentation.ppt318,2
1,Slide 21
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Level 2 (Using Skills and Concepts) Examples

• Language Arts Which of these statements best
  describes what the passage is about?
• Science Which graph of heart rate best
  represents that a person walked for 2 minutes,
  ran for 5 minutes, walked for 2 more minutes, and
  ran for the last 2 minutes?
• Mathematics A car has traveled 23,456.2 miles.
  The next exit is 1000 feet ahead. What will the
  mileage gauge read then?
• Social Studies There was a sharp decline in
  immigration into the United States during the
  second decade of the 20th century. Which of the
  following best accounts for that decline?

http//www.mde.k12.ms.us/CIpresentation.ppt320,2
3,Slide 23
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Level 3 (Strategic Thinking) Examples

• Language Arts The style in this passage is
  characterized by similes like these smooth as
  pudding, crisp as a fresh apple, and rough as
  shredded coconut. Which of these best explains
  the authors purpose in using these similes?
• Science In a laboratory experiment, an enzyme
  is combined with its substrate at time zero. The
  absorbance of the resulting solution is measured
  at five-minute intervals. In this procedure, an
  increase in absorbance is related to the amount
  of product formed during the reaction. The
  experiment uses three preparations. (Students
  will see illustrations.) The most likely reason
  for the failure of the absorbance to increase
  significantly after 10 minutes in preparation III
  is that . . . . (multiple choice options)

http//www.mde.k12.ms.us/CIpresentation.ppt322,2
5,Slide 25
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Level 4 (Extended Thinking) Examples

• Mathematics Students are asked to identify a
  real world problem that requires the
  application of mathematics, describe the possible
  procedure(s) for solving, and explain the outcome
  and their reasoning.
• Social Studies Students are given the scenario
  of acid rain potentially causing problems in a
  specific farming community. Students are to
  define and describe the problem with supporting
  data, propose alternative solutions to the
  problem, select one solution, and explain why it
  would be the best.

http//www.mde.k12.ms.us/CIpresentation.ppt326,2
9,Slide 29
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COGNITIVE
COMPLEXITY

• When assigning the DOK level, consider

• the level of work students are most commonly
  required to perform
• the complexity of the task, rather than its
  difficulty.
• The DOK level describes the kind of thinking
  involved in a task, not the likelihood that the
  task will be completed correctly.
• the complete domain of items that would be
  appropriate for completing the task.
• Identify the DOK level of the most common of
  these items.
• If there is a question regarding which of two
  levels an objective addresses, it is usually
  appropriate to select the higher of the two
  levels.

• Adapted from page 36 of Web Alignment Tool (WAT)
  Training Manual
• http//www.wcer.wisc.edu/WAT/Training20Manual202
  .120Draft20091205.doc Norman L. Webb and others

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(No Transcript)
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Sample test questions
Math Grade 8 Describe a procedure for measuring
the volume of a small pebble.
While it would take a few sentences to outline
the procedure, measuring the volume of an
irregular solid by water displacement is standard
instruction in the middle grades. Therefore, the
seemingly more complex demands of writing an
extended response masks the true cognitive demand
of the item, which only is recall of a well-known
procedure, LEVEL 1.
http//nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ITMRLS/search
.asp?picksubjReading
http//www.wcer.wisc.edu/wat/tutorial/ELATutorial/
Question1.aspx
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Sample test questions

• Social Studies
• In the 19th Century, passengers who did not want
  to go overland by
• Stagecoach could have traveled from the East
  Coast to the West Coast
• of the United States by ship. Which route would
  they Probably have
• followed?
• north in the Atlantic and then east in the Arctic
  Ocean
• south in the Atlantic and then south in the
  Indian Ocean
• south around Africa and north through the Indian
  Ocean
• south around South America and north in the
  Pacific Ocean

This item from a set of released items from the
Missouri Department of Education is an example of
LEVEL 2. The students are required to recall a
map of the western hemisphere and to see the
relationship of east to west travel to that map.
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Sample test questions

• Science Grade 8
• When operating, ordinary incandescent lightbulbs
  produce
• a lot of heat in addition to light. Fluorescent
  lightbulbs
• produce much less heat when operating. If you
  wanted to
• conserve electricity, which type of bulb should
  you use?
• Explain your answer.

This item is LEVEL 3. Students must explain the
connection between electrical consumption and
production of heat in order receive full credit.
Requiring students to explain their answer often
signals a Level 3 item. 
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Sample test questions

• Students are given the scenario of acid rain
  potentially causing problems in a specific
  farming community. Students are to define and
  describe the problems with supporting data. There
  should be a proposal of alternative solutions to
  the problem, a selection of one solution, and an
  explanation of why it would be the best
  alternative. The selected solution must include a
  plan for implementation.

The students would investigate, plan, and develop
solutions to a problem. This task goes beyond
using concepts to solve problems and citing
evidence by requiring evidence of the process and
the inclusion of an implementation plan. An
activity that required students to apply
problem-solving criteria to possible solution in
order to select the best solution would be Level
3. The addition of both the investigation to
gather data that will be used as evidence of the
problem and implementation plan makes this task a
LEVEL 4.  
Wisconsin Center of Education Research
University of Wisconsin-Madison
http//www.wcer.wisc.edu/wat/Tutorial/SCITutorial/
Question13.aspx
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Sample test questions

• 8th Grade Math
• From any vertex of a 4-sided polygon, 1 diagonal
  can be drawn.
• From any vertex of a 5-sided polygon, 2
  diagonals can be drawn.
• From any vertex of a 6-sided polygon, 3
  diagonals can be drawn.
• From any vertex of a 7-sided polygon, 4
  diagonals can be drawn.
• How many diagonals can be drawn from any vertex
  of a 20-sided polygon?  
•  

This problem requires students to notice a
simple, routine pattern, so it is LEVEL 1. It is
difficult to judge the DOK for many pattern
recognition problems, because it depends on how
routine the pattern is. This pattern is
immediately recognizable and requires no
processing, but a different pattern could make
this item level 2 or even 3.
http//www.wcer.wisc.edu/wat/tutorial/SocTutorial/
Question4.aspx
29
(No Transcript)
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Classroom Assessments a ceiling not a target!
Depth of Knowledge
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What does this LOOK like in the classroom?

• Level One (Recall)
• Level Two (Skill/Concept)
• Level Three (Strategic Thinking)
• Level Four (Extended Thinking)

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Procedures

• School
• Is there a good match among the curriculum
  objectives, instruction and what teachers are
  assessing?
• DOK of curriculum objectives
• DOK of instruction
• DOK of summative assessment items
• Administrator
• What is the DOK of the assessments in the
  building?
• Expectations
• Curriculum Alignment
• Curriculum Implementation

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http//www.wcer.wisc.edu/wat/Tutorial/index.aspx
34
NAEP Resources
http//nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ITMRLS/
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Student Engagement

• Schools cannot be made great by great teacher
  performances. They will only be made great by
  great student performances.
• --Phillip Schlechty

Student Engagement Level ? High (Above 90) ?
Moderate (75-89) ? Low (50-74) ? Disengaged
(Below 50)
Teacher Engagement ? Yes ? No
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Student Work on Display

• ? Student work is displayed
•      ? Work is displayed with scoring
  guide                   
•      ? Work is displayed without scoring
  guide                   
•      ? Displayed work indicates a high level of
  learning is expected
•      ? Displayed work does not indicate a high
  level of learning is expected
•      ? Level of expectation is not
  distinguishable through the displayed work
• ? Student work is not displayed

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Classroom Learning Environment

• The physical climate is
• ? Conducive to learning
• ? Somewhat conducive to learning
• ? Not conducive to learning
• (Check all that apply)
• ? Classroom design
• ? Attractiveness
• ? External disruptions
• ? Cleanliness
• ? Temperature
• ? Other _________________

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Classroom Learning Environment

• The instructional climate is
• ? Conducive to learning
• ? Somewhat conducive to learning
• ? Not conducive to learning
• (Check all that apply)
• ? Disruptive behavior
• ? Off-task behavior
• ? Lack of organization
• ? Internal disruptions
• ? Other _________________

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Differentiated Instruction

• Differentiated Instruction Providing students
  with multiple options for taking in information,
  making sense of it, and expressing what they
  learn based on individual needs, interests, and
  readiness

? Differentiated instruction observed. Describe
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
____ _____________________________________________
__________________________________________________
_________
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Reinforcing Effort and Providing Feedback

• Did teacher make a connection between effort and
  achievement?
• Did teacher deliver praise?
• Did praise specify a particular accomplishment?
• Did praise show spontaneity, variety, and other
  signs of credibility?
• Did praise orient students toward better
  appreciation of their own task-related behavior?
• Did teacher provide feedback?
• Did feedback provide an explanation of what was
  correct or incorrect?
• Did teacher convey high or low expectations of
  students?

? Teacher reinforced effort or provided
feedback. Describe _______________________________
___________________________________ ______________
__________________________________________________
__
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Video Practice Segments
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Sources

• Fourth Cycle MSIP Information Documents,
  Publications, Training Rules
• http//dese.mo.gov/divimprove/sia/msip/4th20Cycle
  20Information.html
• Marzano, RobertJ., Debra J. Pickering and Jane E.
  Pollock. Classroom Instruction that Works
  Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student
  Achievement. Alexandria, VA McREL, 2001.
• Missouri Grade Level Expectations
• http//dese.mo.gov/divimprove/divimprove/curriculu
  m/GLE/index.html
• Webb, Norman L. and others. Web Alignment Tool
  24 July 2005. Wisconsin Center of Educational
  Research. University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2
  February 2006 http//www.wcer.wisc.edu/WAT/index.a
  spx.

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Questions/Comments

• School Improvement and Accountability
• http//www.dese.mo.gov
• [phone]

Thank you!