Rigorous Teaching and Learning

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Rigorous Teaching and Learning

The Focus for Our Work in District B2002 -2003





District B Principals Meeting
October 9, 2002


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WHERE ARE WE DISTRICT B?

• Beginning to implement Nested Learning
  Communities and two-way accountability for
  learning results
• Developing expertise as instructional leaders and
  making it a primary focus of our work
• Beginning to Own the Content Standards
• Using Learning Walks to share practice about
  Clear Expectations in standards based
  instruction.

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WHERE ARE WE GOING in District B, 2002-2003?

• We will USE THE 4 RIGOR QUESTIONS to guide our
  inquiryon defining what quality work is and
  knowing when our students are meeting the
  standards.
• We will continue the work we experienced at our
  last meeting with DataWorks to STUDY THE
  STANDARDS and how they define rigor
• We will FOCUS ON RIGOROUS WORK IN EACH CONTENT
  AREA with emphasis on WRITING

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Four Rigor Questions Inquiries for 2002-2003
1.    What does rigorous work look like in each
content area / discipline?        
 2.    What kinds of instruction help all
students to do rigorous work in each
content area / discipline?          3.   
How can we assess whether students are doing
rigorous work in each content area /
discipline?  4.    How do we ensure that
all students are given equitable access to
rigorous disciplinary instruction?
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What is the Focus of our Work Today?

• Today we will
• Learn how Lauren Resnick defines Academic Rigor
  in a Thinking Curriculum
• Determine how the Features and Indicators of
  Clear Expectations and Accountable Talk support
  Academic Rigor
• Determine how the History-Social Science
  Standards define Rigor
• Prepare for collection of evidence about Academic
  Rigor through Learning Walks

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WHAT IS RIGOR?

• What is Academic Rigor? Please define in your
  own words.
• What are the criteria for a rigorous task /
  assignment or lesson?
• Compare with a partner. Notice what is the same
  and different in your thinking about rigor. Be
  ready to share out.

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WHAT IS RIGOR? FEATURES OFACADEMIC RIGOR IN A
THINKING CURRICULUM

• Commitment to a Knowledge Core
• There is an articulated curriculum in each
  subject that avoids needless repetition and
  progressively deepens understanding of core
  concepts.
• The curriculum and instruction are clearly
  organized around major concepts specified in the
  standards.
• Teaching and assessment focus on students
  mastery of core concepts.
• High Thinking Demand
• In every subject students are regularly expected
  to raise questions, to solve problems, to think,
  and to reason.
• Students are doing challenging, high-level
  assignments in every subject.
• Assignments in each subject include extended
  projects in which original work and revision to
  standards is expected.
• Students are challenged to construct
  explanations and to justify arguments in each
  subject.
• Instruction is organized to support reflection
  on learning processes and strategies.
• Active Use of Knowledge
• Each subject includes assignments that require
  students to synthesize several sources of
  information.
• Students in each subject are challenged to
  construct explanations and to test their
  understanding of concepts by applying them and
  discussing them.
• Students prior knowledge and out-of-school
  knowledge is used regularly in the teaching and
  learning process.
• Instructional tasks and classroom discourse
  requires students to interpret texts and
  construct solutions.

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What Does Lauren Resnick say about Rigor?
Use the Observation Sheet in your packet to take
notes about the features and indicators of rigor
as you watch the video. How does Dr. Resnick
define rigor? What are the critical elements?
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WHAT IS RIGOR? RESNICKS FEATURES OF
HIGHER-ORDER THINKING

• The path is not fully specified in advance
• The total path is not visible from a single
  vantage point
• Multiple solutions are possible, with cost and
  benefits
• Interpretation and judgments are required
• Multiple criteria, that often are in conflict
  with one another, exist
• Uncertainty exists, not everything that bears on
  the task at hand is known
• Self-regulation of the thinking process is
  needed
• Meaning must be imposed, structure must be made
  of apparent disorder
• Elaborations and judgments require a lot of
  effort.

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WHAT IS RIGOR?THINKING AND REASONING FEATURES

• Compare our criteria for a rigorous task /
• lesson with Resnick.
• Which criteria do we need more discussion about?
• How does talk support these criteria?

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Accountable TalkFeatures and Indicators
Engagement with Learning through Talk         
A substantial portion of instructional time
involves students in talk related to the concepts
delineated in the standards.         Teachers
create the norms and skills of Accountable Talk
in their classrooms by modeling appropriate forms
of discussion and by questioning,
probing, and leading conversations. 
Accountability to the Learning
Community         Students actively participate
in classroom talk.         Students listen
attentively to one another.         Students
elaborate and build upon ideas and each others
contributions.         Students work toward the
goal of clarifying or expanding a proposition.
Accountability to Knowledge         Students
make use of specific and accurate knowledge.
        Students provide evidence for claims
and arguments.         Students identify the
knowledge that may not be available yet which is
needed to address an issue. Accountability to
Rigorous Thinking         Students synthesize
several sources of information.        
Students construct explanations.        
Students formulate conjectures and hypotheses.
        Students test their own understanding
of concepts.         Classroom talk is
accountable to generally accepted standards of
reasoning.         Students challenge the
quality of each other's evidence and reasoning.
        Classroom talk is accountable to
standards of evidence appropriate to the subject
matter.
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TEACHING FOR RIGORACCOUNTABLE TALK

• What does it mean for talk to be accountable
  to
• Community?
• A Knowledge Core?
• Standards of Reasoning?
• How would talking in this way support rigorous
  work?
• How might we use this kind of talking to assess
  whether students are doing rigorous work?
• Read through the section on Accountable Talk
  in-Core Documents-Resources PoLs E-Book

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WHAT IS RIGOR IN HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE? STUDYING
THE STANDARDS

• You each have a section that includes all of the
  History-Social Science standards K-12. Lets
  begin with the History and Social Sciences
  Analysis Skills Habits of Mind. Read through
  these for Kindergarten through Grade Five, Grades
  Six through Eight, and Grades Nine through
  Twelve.
• How do the expectations for students change from
  one level to the next in each of the three major
  disciplinary competencies?
• Chronological and Spatial Thinking
• Research, Evidence and Point of View
• Historical Interpretation
• How do these define rigor in the Social Sciences?

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WHAT IS RIGOR IN HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE? STUDYING
THE STANDARDS
What would students need to know to develop
skills in Chronological and Spatial Thinking?
Research, Evidence and Point of View? Historical
Interpretation? What would students be doing in
classrooms to develop these skills in each of
these?
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LOOKING FOR RIGOR LEARNINGWALKSM

• What is the evidence of commitment to a
  knowledge core?
• What concepts are students exploring?
• What are students learning to do?
• What habits of mind thinking skills are being
  developed?
• What tasks are students engaged in?
• What kinds of talk are teacher and students
  engaged in?
• What evidence do you see of Clear Expectations?
  Do they support rigor?
• What evidence do you see of the features of
  Academic Rigor?
• What evidence do you see of the features of
  Accountable Talk?

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What is Accountable Talk?

• Accountable Talk is talk -- by both students and
  teachers - - that is rigorous, coherent, and
  equitably distributed.
• Accountable Talk promotes academic rigor, is a
  characteristic of quality instruction, and serves
  as a crucial mechanism for socializing
  intelligence.

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Accountable Talk, Clear Expectations and Rigor

• In what ways might using Accountable Talk help
  students to develop these skills/habits of mind
  as they learn the concepts in the standards?
• How might we use Accountable Talk to assess what
  students comprehend and whether students are
  doing rigorous work?
• In what ways do Clear Expectations help students
  develop these skills / habits of mind?

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The ChallengeHow do we Apply What We are
Learning?

• Our goal is to create schools that function as
  learning communities in which
• Principals provide support for their own and
  teachers professional development by leading
  learning communities that foster rigorous
  instruction to develop student growth toward
  standards and independence.
• Think about the classrooms in your school / the
  schools in our district. What are one or two
  strategic actions that you are taking / can take
  to achieve progress toward these goals? Talk
  with those at your table about how these actions
  will move your classrooms / schools.

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REFLECTING ON OUR LEARNING PLANNING TO NURTURE
OTHERS LEARNING

• Our goal/topics of study today What did you
  learn How will you help others What else
  do you today? learn this? What
  strategies/ need for your tools will you
  use/revise? own learning?
• Learn how Lauren Resnickdefines Academic
  RigorAnalyze the Features and Indicators
• Determine how Clear Expectations
• Supports Academic Rigor
• Determine how Accountable Talk supports
  AcademicRigor
• Study the Social Science Analysis Skills-
  Habits of Mind at all levels
• Determine how the History Social Science
  Content Standards define Rigor
• Prepare for collection of evidenceabout rigor
  through Learning Walks