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May 23, 2012

How Can We Best Respond To A Student Who Is Disengaged?

Two readers have asked a similar question:

Science Eduk8r:

What do you do with the student who simply has refused to work?

Mary B:

I am a new teacher and have a position teaching in a high school. My question for you is how to respond to an apathetic student in my classroom?

Many of us have had students in our classrooms who are disengaged.

What do we do?

Please share your thoughts in the comments, or, if you prefer, feel free to email them to me.

Thanks to Science Eduk8r and to Mary B. for contributing their questions.

Anyone whose question is selected for this weekly column can choose one free book from a selection of twelve published by Eye On Education.

You can send questions to me at lferlazzo@epe.org.When you send in your question, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

And just a reminder -- you can subscribe to this blog for free via RSS Reader or email....

Posted by Larry Ferlazzo at 9:15 AM | | Leave a comment | Recommend

May 23, 2012

Response: Factors Behind The Success Of Ontario's Schools -- Part Two

(This is the second of a two-part series on Ontario's schools. You can find Part One here)

Much has been written about the high-performing schools in Finland and Singapore, but I've recently begun to hear more about our neighbors to the north in Ontario.

So, last week I asked:

What's going on in Ontario's schools?

Part One in this series included guest responses from administrators, parents and teachers, including the President of the Canadian Teachers' Federation.

Today's post will include a contribution from Professor Michael Fullan, along with several comments from readers.

Response From Michael Fullan

Michael Fullan is professor emeritus at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, and is currently special advisor to the premier and minister of education in Ontario. This piece originally appeared as part of TheAtlantic.com's America the Fixable series, produced in collaboration with Common Good. I have also included a short introduction Professor Fullan has written specifically for today's column:

INTRODUCTION

Countries around the world are focusing on improving the performance of their educational systems. This phenomenon is getting increased attention partly because the PISA results from OECD shows clearly that the literacy, math and science results of 15 year olds by country varies considerably. As we look at the policies and strategies behind these numbers leaders realize that they have a choice, that is, it is possible to influence the quality of the outcomes. Couple this with the fact that education performance is clearly essential for the economic and social development of a country in a global world, there is an increased spotlight on the problem.

Unfortunately some countries in a hurry to address the issues get the solutions wrong. I call these mistake 'wrong drivers for whole system reform'. Drivers are policy and strategy instruments designed to 'cause' improvement in the system. A wrong driver is one that does not work; a right driver is one that does produce improvement. In our work on system reform we have been sorting out what drivers work and which ones do not. This is our conclusion: excessive accountability, individualistic strategies designed to increase human capital, technology and ad hoc policy solutions waste valuable time and resources and often make matters worse. By contract emphasizing capacity building , collaboration and teamwork, instruction or pedagogy, and systemic coherent policies do work. The key is which policies end up 'motivating' teachers and others to put in the effort to get better results, while at the same time serving the public accountability requirement that practices and results are getting better, and that interventions are occurring that actually address the problems in a productive way.

In Ontario since 2003 we have been deliberately trying to get the right mix of right drivers in place. And it is working! In the rest of this article i give a somewhat simplified rendition of waht we have done and accomplished. No country can imitate the strategies of another and get success. But our approach and results as well as progress in other countries using similar policies raises the direct question of how can the US re-configure its approach at the state and Federal levels in order to increase performance on a wide scale. The good news is that this can be done, and that in can be done in a relatively short time --5 or 6 years to make substantial progress. Time is of the essence in getting started down this more productive path.

What America Can Learn From Ontario's Education Success

Ontario is Canada's largest province, home to over 13 million people and a public education system with roughly 2 million students, 120,000 educators, and 5,000 schools. As recently as 2002, this system was stagnant by virtually any measure of performance. In October 2003, a new provincial government (Canada has no federal agency or jurisdiction in education) was elected with a mandate and commitment to transform it.

Improvements began within a year, and now some eight years later its 900 high schools have shown an increase in graduation rates from 68 percent (2003-04) to 82 percent (2010-11), while reading, writing, and math results have gone up 15 percentage points across its 4,000 elementary schools since 2003. Morale of teachers and principals is stronger (fewer teachers leave the profession in the first few years), and achievement gaps have been substantially reduced for low-income students, the children of recent immigrants, and special education students (although not for "First Nation" students). In short, the entire system has dramatically improved.

These accomplishments have not gone unnoticed outside Canada. The McKinsey group, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, the National Center on Education and the Economy in Washington, D.C., and Harvard's Program on Education Policy and Governance have all done recent case studies on Ontario's education system, concluding that it is one of the most improved and highest performing in the world. They especially admire the impressive, innovative strategy that got the results. So, what's the secret?

It's simple. Ontario public schools follow a model embraced by top-performing hospitals, businesses, and organizations worldwide. Specifically, they do five things in concert -- focus, build relationships, persist, develop capacity, and spread quality implementation.

In practice, this meant refocusing the way Ontario schools delivered education. Like many school systems, Ontario had too many "top" priorities. The Ministry of Education selected three--literacy, math, and high school graduation--with a commitment to raise the bar for all students and close achievement gaps between all groups. There are other goals, of course, but these three are non-negotiable and take precedence because they leverage so many other learning goals.

Focus and persistence ensure that these priorities are not going to be discarded along the way. The history of education innovations has generated a "this too shall pass" mindset among teachers. One of our colleagues calls this phenomenon "the law of innovation fatigue." Any attempt to create a high-leverage priority (like the three adopted by Ontario) requires that the education system as a whole commits to them long-term.

But priorities don't mean anything if you don't develop the relationships necessary to enact them. The provincial government set out to develop a strong sense of two-way partnerships and collaboration, especially between administrators and teachers, and in concert with teachers' unions. This required providing significant leeway to individual school districts to experiment with novel approaches to reaching the province's three main educational goals, and focusing significant reform efforts on investments in staffing and teacher development.

By focusing on teacher development, Ontario was also able to raise teacher accountability. Decades of experience have taught Canadian educators that you can't get greater accountability through direct measures of rewards and punishments. Instead, what Ontario did was to establish transparency of results and practice (anyone can find out what any school's results are, and what they are doing to get those results) while combining this with what we call non-judgmentalism. This latter policy means that if a teacher is struggling, administrators and peers will step in to help her get better. (There are, however, steps that can be taken if a situation consistently fails to improve.)

The final element of the strategy involves identifying and spreading quality practices. Most education systems are loosely coupled to say the least -- behind the classroom door, teachers are islands unto themselves. In such isolated systems, two problems emerge. The first is that good ideas do not get around; they remain trapped in individual classrooms or schools. The other problem is that poor teaching can remain entrenched, because good practices are not being disseminated. A big part of the Ontario strategy has been to break down the walls of the classroom, the school, and even the district by increasing communication, cataloging and sharing best practices, and fostering a culture of teamwork. To that end, the Ministry of Education guides local school districts in developing more collaborative professional environments, while also acting as a clearinghouse for innovation and best practices.

The net result of these five forces is an education system that has the characteristics of a high-performing organization: relentless focus, interactive pressure and support, a preoccupation with results and how to improve them, a culture of mutual commitment, and what we call collaborative competition, where there is no limit to what is being attempted. The fact that this strategy develops leaders at all levels -- leaders who focus on results, as they help develop other leaders -- means that sustainability is built into the whole enterprise. Ontario isn't perfect. But it proves that large-scale reform can be accomplished in school systems in fairly short periods of time.

Responses From Readers

Seonaid Davis:

I am a teacher/administrator in Ontario. What is going on with the Ontario education system is that we have a Provincial government who has made education a priority over its three terms in office. The curriculum is sound and the assessment policy is research based and focused on improving student learning. Students are assessed in different thinking categories and according to four levels of achievement. Assessment is criterion reference and the levels are established provincially. The government has three main goals that they have been consistently working towards:

* high levels of student achievement
* reduced gaps in student achievement
* increased public confidence in publicly funded education

This focus has come with additional resources for publicly funded schools. The government has put into place a lot of programs to support students, including full day kindergarten for 4 and 5 year olds (Junior and Senior Kindergarten). Students are required to be in school until 18 (Learning to 18) and there is a focus on student success in high schools with funds earmarked for keeping at risk students in schools. There are many different policies but they all related to the 3 goals of the government so there is a consistency within them.

Our curriculum is reviewed and revised on a 7 year cycle and involves consultation with teachers as well as Ministry staff. The new curriculum is designed with a backward design model, similar to Understanding by Design with a focus on overall expectations in each area, supported by specific expectations. Teacher must assess the overall expectations but can choose specific expectations that support the underlying big ideas of the overall expectations in their instructional planning. That helps with the overload of expectations that are common in all curricula. Our teachers are well educated, well paid and generally respected.

Joanne:

I notice that Ontario schools are working quite hard to involve parents in the school system via Parent Councils. Volunteers in the classroom seems more welcome in elementary schools than would have been the case a decade ago.

Heidi Siwak is an award-winning middle school teacher and blogger in Dundas, Ontario, Canada:

In 2003 Ontario began an overhaul of its education system that centered on research-based effective practices and and providing funding and training at all levels so that students across the province, no matter the income level or location could experience success. Many school boards were amalgamated and the province took over funding of schools from local communities so that access to excellent education became more equitable. It has not been an easy process, there have been bumps along the way, but I would definitely say that at the elementary level we are much better than we were.

Key to the change has been developing a common understanding of leadership

I'll share a two additional links. The first contains a wealth of resources including many videos on effective practices.

Our teaching practices are expected to be based on high yield strategies.

Rather than there being continuous ever-changing initiatives, the province decided to focus on two specific targeted areas: literacy and math as these are seen as the foundations of all other subjects. We experience standardized tests in those two subjects in grades 3 and 6 at the elementary level.

One of the notable statistics from Ontario shows that while we do not experience the grinding levels of poverty found in the US, there is very little difference between the success levels of those from poorer backgrounds and those from more economically advantaged backgrounds in our province.

Please feel free to leave a comment sharing your reactions to this question and the ideas shared here.

Thanks to Michael and to many readers for sharing their responses!

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org.When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind. I'm way behind in acknowledging questions that have been sent in, but I promise to get caught up in the summer!

Anyone whose question is selected for this weekly column can choose one free book from a selection of twelve published by Eye On Education.

I'll be posting the next "question of the week" tomorrow.

Posted by Larry Ferlazzo at 8:43 AM | | Leave a comment | Recommend

May 21, 2012

Response: Factors Behind The Success Of Ontario's Schools -- Part One

(This is the first of a two-part series on Ontario's schools)

Much has been written about the high-performing schools in Finland and Singapore, but I've recently begun to hear more about our neighbors to the north in Ontario.

So, last week I asked:

What's going on in Ontario's schools?

I'll be posting Part Two of this series tomorrow night, which will include reader's comments. In addition, another resource worth reviewing is a report edited Linda Darling-Hammond and Robert Rothman titled Teacher And Leader Effectiveness In High-Performing Education Systems.

Today's post will include a guest response from a teacher, an administrator, and a parent deeply involved in Ontario's school system: Paul Taillefer, President of the Canadian Teachers' Federation; Vice-Principal (& parent) Shannon Smith; and parent leaders Annie Kidder and Sheila Stewart.

Response From Paul Taillefer

Paul Taillefer, a native of Sudbury, Ontario, holds a bachelor's degree from Laurentian University and a bachelor of education degree from the University of Western Ontario. Before becoming CTF President in 2011, Paul was involved in the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO) for over 25 years, serving two consecutive terms as President:

In March, I attended the second International Summit on the Teaching Profession in New York which gathered government and teacher leaders from 24 countries and regions with high performing and rapidly improving educational systems.

Throughout the Summit, Canada emerged as having one of the most successful education systems in the world, being referenced several times by many of the participants. We believe that our success is derived from many factors: our highly educated teaching force, the importance of professional development, ongoing relations between ministries/departments of education and education stakeholders, and the importance of public education in building Canadian society and strengthening our democracy.

In recent years and especially during the summit, many eyes were turned to Ontario for its outstanding education system and excellent teachers. Ontario's success story didn't happen overnight. It is the product of forward thinking strategies and favorable educational policies which, since 2003, have been introduced by a new progressive government that chose to build instead of destroy relationships with its teachers, casting aside the regressive path taken by the previous provincial conservative government.

That is, until a few months ago.

In February 2012, the recently re-elected Ontario provincial government (known for being a champion for education since 2003), announced that a wage freeze, pay grid freeze and benefit reductions would be the order of the day - an announcement that has certainly cooled the government's relationship with the province's teachers. The announcement was perceived as a flashback to the time when former Ontario Premier Mike Harris' Conservative government eroded teacher rights and when education was decimated by policies of the short-sighted "Common sense revolution" political platform. The new road for Ontario with its new austerity blueprint does not augur well for public education. How it plays out in the end, we have yet to see. However, one thing is certain - labour peace can only come with the respect for teachers and for the collective bargaining process which are integral parts of a high performing education system that cannot be ignored. There are, however, other elements which support a strong, vibrant and successful public education system.

Here's a brief overview of the Canadian context:

Canada's social safety net

The Canadian education framework extends well beyond the classroom. Children and families are supported within society, in conditions outside of school by way of medical assistance, social programs and immigrant support. The social fabric of Canadian communities assists in reducing the extremes of situations for children and families. Perhaps most important is the societal value placed on diversity and equity support that ensures the vast majority of Canadian public schools are high quality, high performing schools. Societal value for the collective good creates a strong public education system from K - 12 and beyond.

Education funding

A core strength came from the dominant role of provincial/territorial governments in structuring and funding a system with high levels of local involvement striving toward goals within a provincial/territorial framework. The almost non-existent federal role and the minimal local political influence are seen to contribute to consistency, clarity of purpose and stability. Perhaps most important is the integrated focus placed on education and education improvement. Teachers work with local and provincial officials at all levels in setting directions, choosing strategies, and engaging the players. The system is built on unity, cooperation, collaboration and shared values. Public education and public schools are a source of community pride and satisfaction.

Support for teachers

Good teaching depends on attracting and retaining talented people in the profession, not just through pay but by providing them with excellent working conditions, professional development opportunities and above all, by including their voices in education reform.

PISA's top-performing countries show us that the way forward is by elevating the teaching profession. Among the hallmarks of high-performers such as Canada and Finland are strong teachers unions and evaluation systems that identify, support and advance effective teaching .... The work of teachers should be assessed, but there is no simple, easy way to evaluate a profession that combines many different tasks, from explaining content to inspiring students to maintaining order in class. Rating schools and teachers is counterproductive and anathema to the profession. The lesson from PISA is clear: Respect teachers and treat them like professionals.

The OECD's 2011 background report for the Summit, Building a High-Quality Teaching Profession: Lessons From Around the World" stresses the importance of meaningful teacher engagement in the development and implementation of educational reform - "school reform will not work unless it is supported from the bottom up." The report goes on to say that "open and ongoing systematic dialogue and consultation are fundamental to the process. Such dialogue should recognize that teachers are experts in teaching and learning and thus can make an essential contribution to the design of reforms."

One of the most important ways we can respect teachers and treat them like professionals is by listening closely to what they have to say about their area of expertise: teaching and learning. We need to utilize this knowledge to effect better decision making regarding education policy and practice.

Response From Shannon Smith

Shannon Smith is the Vice Principal of a large elementary school in the Ottawa Carleton District School Board, and a parent. She is @shannoninottawa on Twitter and writes a blog:

In Ontario the focus has been on developing collective professional capacity. We have standards-based assessments written by all students at several grade levels - grades 3 and 6 at elementary, for example. The assessments are directly linked to our provincial Mathematics and English curricula. School results are made public. When schools are determined to be struggling, they receive additional funding and instructional coaching support to develop the capacity of the staff to meet the needs of all students in math and literacy.

The focus of professional development within my district is to network teachers so that colleagues share their expertise and learn together. The approach is job-embedded inquiry and student work is the focus for discussion and decision-making. In this way, there is collegial pressure and support to improve instructional practices. Assessment is key and there has been a large push towards developing shared understandings around the standards we want students to meet. Ontario has witnessed much change over the past several years, and I feel that the evolving and responsive approach is something to note. Our teachers' federations have taken a lead role in providing professional development aimed at harnessing the creative and innovative expertise of their members in order to develop the profession as a whole.

The danger I see being in the international spotlight is that other districts may latch on to a decontextualized notion of what we are doing to support all students, ignoring the evolution that is ongoing. While there are many take-aways, there is always the danger of taking an approach out of context and assuming that it is the proverbial golden ticket to student success. The collective hard work of thousands of educators working together is at the core and there is much more hard work to be done. It is a work in progress.

The focus here is on standards, not standings. Equity of outcomes for all students forms the foundation for our system.

Response From Annie Kidder and Sheila Stewart

Annie Kidder is the Executive Director of People for Education, an Ontario-based independent organization that conducts research and advocacy, and promotes citizen in engagement in public education. Sheila Steward blogs at Sheila Speaking and is @SheilaSpeaking on Twitter:

Ontario's name crops up a lot these days in the international "talk" about high-performing education systems. Our schools are inundated with visitors asking, "How did you do it?" "Why have your test scores gone up so much?" "How have you managed to narrow the gap between the high- and low-performing students?"

Maybe the real question should be, "Has Ontario become an educational Nirvana?"

Short answer: Not quite.

Long answer: There are many great things going on in Ontario's schools.

In Canada, provincial governments have absolute jurisdiction over education from Kindergarten to Grade 12. In Ontario, we have a leader who refers to himself as the Education Premier. His wife's a teacher and he has made education one of his primary causes. For the last ten years the province has lived by the "pressure and support" mantra of Michael Fullan; test scores and graduation rates are up, teachers' strikes have stopped, and the education system is stable.

But is it perfect? No.

As in many other jurisdictions (but interestingly not in Finland, another name that consistently crops up in conversations about top education systems), Ontario has focused primarily on getting test scores up in three subjects: reading, writing and math. In a world of two-tiered curricula, other subjects are relegated to the bottom tier.

The test scores have improved, but at the same time the percentage of students in grades 3 and 6 who say they "like to read" has plummeted, and fewer schools have music teachers or teacher-librarians. Many schools now rely on parent fundraising to support arts enrichment, extracurricular activities, technology enhancements, library books and even new sports facilities. This has created another kind of inequity - some schools can raise as much as $500,000, others raise $0 - it depends on the average incomes of the parents. The result: a double advantage for privileged students, and a double disadvantage for students from low-income families, who have fewer enriching resources at home and fewer still at school.

Ontario may have better test scores and labour peace, but it is suffering from a narrowing of the very definition of education. In contrast, places like Finland and Singapore are expanding the time kids spend on the arts, and they're working on building students' 21st century citizen competencies.

Ontario has some catching up to do if we want to educate young people who will truly thrive as adults.


Please feel free to leave a comment sharing your reactions to this question and the ideas shared here. I'll be including comments from readers in my "Part Two" post tomorrow night.

Thanks to Paul, Shannon, Annie and Sheila for sharing their responses!

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org.When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind. I'm way behind in acknowledging questions that have been sent in, but I promise to get caught up in the summer!

Anyone whose question is selected for this weekly column can choose one free book from a selection of twelve published by Eye On Education.

I'll be posting the next "question of the week" on Friday.

Posted by Larry Ferlazzo at 8:18 AM | | Leave a comment | Recommend

May 16, 2012

What's Going On In Ontario's Schools?

Much has been written about the high-performing schools in Finland and Singapore, but I've recently begun to hear more about our neighbors to the north in Ontario.

So, the newest "question of the week" is:

What's going on in Ontario's schools?

Are there readers our there more familiar with what's happening in Ontario? Do you teach there? How would you describe what's going on in Ontario's schools?

Please share your thoughts in the comments, or, if you prefer, feel free to email them to me.

Anyone whose question is selected for this weekly column can choose one free book from a selection of twelve published by Eye On Education.

You can send questions to me at lferlazzo@epe.org.When you send in your question, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

And just a reminder -- you can subscribe to this blog for free via RSS Reader or email....

Posted by Larry Ferlazzo at 6:32 PM | | Leave a comment | Recommend

May 15, 2012

Response: Helping Long-Term ELL's & Evaluating ELL Teachers Fairly

This week, I'm doing something a little different and offering responses to two, instead of one, "questions of the week." They both relate to English Language Learners. The first one relates to long-term ELL's and the second is on how ELL teachers can be evaluated fairly.

QUESTION ONE

Anne Smith asked:

What is being done to help Long-Term English Language Learners and what does effective intervention look like?

Over the last few years, I've had quite a few students who have been in American schools since kindergarten. I teach at the Middle School level and some of these students cannot read beyond a 2nd or 3rd grade level. By the time they reach me, they feel feel they are "held hostage" in ESL and are very upset to spend ANOTHER year waiting to be released. They want to be in classes with everyone else, do not want to be identified as "ESL" and they tell me that they are stupid. What is really heartbreaking is when there are high school students in this situation. They give up, fail their classes and are at risk for dropping out of school.

As a teacher of ESL, as well as mainstream, classes, I can understand Anne's concern. I've asked Katie Hull Sypnieski, my long-time colleague, friend, and co-author of our upcoming book, The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide: Ready-to-Use Strategies, Tools, and Activities for Teaching English Language Learners of All Levels, to respond to this question.

Response From Katie Hull Sypnieski

Katie Hull Sypnieski has taught English learners of all levels for fifteen years in the Sacramento City Unified School District. She has served as a teaching consultant with the Area 3 Writing Project at UC Davis for the past ten years and is a member of the Teacher Leaders Network. As mentioned earlier, Katie and I have co-authored an upcoming book on teaching ELLs. Education Week Teacher published an excerpt last week:

Well over half of ELLs in middle and high schools were born in the United States, are second or even third generation immigrants, and have been enrolled in U.S. schools since kindergarten. While these students have been labeled "Generation 1.5", researchers more commonly identify these students as "Long-Term English Learners or LTELs." Typically, these students have high levels of oral English proficiency, but have major deficits in academic language and in their reading and writing skills. Many Long-Term ELLs struggle in their content classes and are "stuck" at the Intermediate level of English proficiency.

Research has shown there are many factors which contribute to a student becoming a LTEL including a lack of targeted language development, placement in intervention models designed for native English speakers, limited access to the full curriculum, placement with teachers lacking the professional development needed to address the language needs of ELLs, and socio-economic factors including poverty, among others. In California, Laurie Olsen and the statewide coalition Californians Together have published research and recommendations for addressing the needs of LTELs in a report titled Reparable Harm.

Unfortunately, few school districts have formal policies and programs designed for LTELs, but many educators are working to address the needs of these students in their classrooms. It is essential that teachers get to know who their LTELs are and get a clear picture of their academic strengths and weaknesses. Using formative assessment to guide instruction, focusing on building students' oral and written academic language, encouraging primary language development, and using engaging, relevant curriculum designed for adolescents and not for younger children can be successful approaches. In order for students to have true access to the content being taught, teachers must carefully consider the language demands required in order to access that content and scaffold their instruction to meet both language and content objectives. Building relationships with students and parents and creating a positive learning environment where students feel challenged and engaged are also crucial factors in addressing the needs of LTELs.

At my school, LTELs are placed in mainstream content classes with their English-only peers and teachers differentiate instruction to meet their specific language needs. However, it can be difficult to be at a school where the LTELs are "tracked" and put into separate classes often resulting in feelings of frustration, failure, and disengagement. While this is a huge challenge, powerful teaching and learning can occur when teachers use high-interest texts and units of study, and when they scaffold academic tasks and skills that students will need for college and in their careers. Using materials and strategies designed for younger learners or struggling English-only readers can be demoralizing and ineffective as the research has shown. Reparable Harm offers more specific recommendations for teachers working with LTELs. As the title of this report suggests, there are actions we can take as teachers right now to better serve these students. Hopefully, we will also see policy changes addressing the needs of LTELs so that districts and teachers can offer the support and instruction these students deserve.

QUESTION TWO

Anonymous asked:

In NYC we are learning by some half baked professional development, and drive by 10 minute observations as part of using the Danielson Rubric. It seems impossible to me that any ESL teacher could achieve any of the two highest ratings, both which require seeing a great deal of high-level student oral response and conversation.

Is the Danielson rubric being used in your school? Is it, along with the Common Core Standards, the national future? I believe she developed this for teachers to learn about improving their teaching. In a supportive environment, the potential as tool to encourage improvement is good. But for evaluating teachers it seems a poor fit.

I am getting rather unhappy teaching a beginning class of ESL and noting the near impossibility of getting either of the top two ratings. What have other teachers thought of that rubric? If verbal response is not easy, the teacher has failed to engage the class, it seems to say.

Please keep my identity anonymous if you choose this question to post. My school administration is using it to demoralize teachers.

The issue of teacher evaluation is a major national issue. Many questions remain to be answered, including ones about the effect of ELL's on different evaluation processes that are being implemented throughout the country. In addition to the Danielson rubric, value-added measurement (VAM) is being used in many districts to assess teacher effectiveness.

Before I talk specifically about the Danielson rubric, I'd like to highlight a report that was just published last week by Linda Darling Hammond at Stanford examining the shortcomings of VAM and exploring more effective teacher evaluation strategies. Here is what she found about VAM's effect on teachers of English Language Learners:

...a California study... found that teachers' value-added ratings were significantly related to their students' race/ethnicity, income, language background, and parent education, despite the fact that these variables were "controlled" in the statistical models. In one example, the rating for an experienced English teacher jumped from the very lowest decile in one year to the very highest decile the next year. Between these two years, the proportion of English learners in her classroom dropped from nearly 60% to under 5%, and the proportions of Hispanic and low-income students also decreased while parent education levels increased.

Similarly, in a study in Houston, Texas, where teachers are evaluated for dismissal and merit pay using a value-added system called EVAAS, teachers generally receive lower EVAAS ratings when they are teaching larger numbers of mainstreamed English learners. Some highly respected teachers with strong supervisory ratings have been dismissed after taking on such classes in the fourth grade, where students are first transitioned into mainstream classes. One of those dismissed had previously had exemplary ratings every year and was voted Teacher of the Year. As two teachers commented to researchers conducting the study:

"I went to a transition classroom, and now there's a red flag next to my name. I guess now I'm an ineffective teacher? I keep getting letters from the district, saying "You've been recognized as an outstanding teacher"... this, this, and that.

But now because I teach English-language learners who "transition in," my scores drop, and I get a flag next to my name.I'm scared to teach in the fourth grade. I'm scared I might lose my job if I teach in an [ELL] transition grade level, because I'm scared my scores are going to drop, and I'm going to get fired because there's probably going to be no growth."

ELL and ESL teachers like Anonymous clearly have reason to be concerned about how evaluation systems will be applied to them.


The Danielson Group did not respond to my request for a response to Anonymous' question. However, Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, agreed to ask her staff prepare a response since several AFT Local affiliates are in districts where the Danielson rubric is being used. Giselle Lundy-Ponce contributed this response on behalf of The AFT-NYSUT-RIFTHP Educator Evaluation for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (E3TL) Consortium. The Consortium was formed to implement a comprehensive teacher development and evaluation pilot project across ten districts in New York and Rhode Island.

In addition to Giselle's response, I will also be sharing a reader's comment who echoes Anonymous' fears.

Response from Giselle Lundy-Ponce

Dear Educator in New York,

Thank you for your correspondence. You are certainly not alone in pointing out that the evaluation of teachers of special student populations, such as ELLs, students with disabilities, students with interrupted formal education and others, using the Danielson rubric can be challenging. Implementing this rubric with teachers of these students will require much more preparation, support, resources and information for all stakeholders involved.

In the particular example that you cite, newly-arrived ELLs or ELLs who are at very basic levels of English proficiency may not be able to participate fully and evaluators should be made aware of these particular situations in advance. However, this does not mean that efforts should not be made to try and engage these students in grade-appropriate content through a variety of alternative methods.

A collaborative initiative* representing the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) and the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals (RIFTHP), is in the midst of a five-year pilot project (funded by the Department of Education's i3--Investing in Innovation--grants and the AFT's Innovation Fund) that is focusing on implementation of state-of-the-art teacher development and evaluation systems across ten districts in New York and Rhode Island (New York City is not one of the ten districts) using the Danielson teaching standards as the basis for each state's rubric. The pilot includes the evaluation of teachers of special populations.

Since this is in the piloting phase and a work in progress, we do not yet have resources available for dissemination or final guidance. However, knowing full well the complexities of trying to do this work and how time- and resource-intensive it is, we can recommend the following components for a successful teacher evaluation and development system:

• Multiple measures used to assess teaching performance (student work, teacher portfolios, etc.);
• An analysis of conditions affecting successful teaching and learning (school climate, safety, professional support, instructional leadership, etc.);
• A system for teacher support and assistance (mentoring, coaching, professional development, study groups, etc.);
• Adequate time for evaluations to include time for self-reflection, goal-setting, pre- and post-observation conferences;
• Highly prepared evaluators/observers who are aware of each teacher's special circumstances

As to how special populations fit into the Danielson rubric, we would recommend that particular attention be paid to the following steps:

• Thorough examination and analysis of rubric language for effectiveness in instructing ELLs and students with disabilities;
• Gathering feedback and research-based information on what best practice looks like; and
• Determining if modifications are needed

In short, any multi-faceted teacher evaluation and development system can not be implemented without a well thought-out process and requisite amount of work and preparation.

At the end of this pilot project, one of our expected outcomes is to include guidance and recommendations for school districts and state departments of education on what teachers and evaluators should be aware of when it comes to special populations. As districts and states embark on the process of implementing teacher evaluation systems, one of our recommendations will include the need for more time and resources for teachers to collaborate closely with each other, to share best practices and effective resources, and for general education and specialized teachers to learn from each other.

The work we are doing is aimed at influencing districts and states to ensure that these recommendations are taken into account when designing and revising systems.

Giselle also suggested several resources that provide teachers with practical suggestions on helping ELLs acquire high-level content and levels of participation. I've listed them here.

Reader Response

Here's a comment from another high school ESL teacher in New York City:

I teach in NYC and had an observation of an ESL high school class with new and long term ELLs, using the "Low interference" model from the Danielson Rubric. City Principals and Assistant Principals get the rubric preloaded into their ipads. In this observation the format is T: S: for example:

T: Yesterday we read about "Stop and Frisk" Does anyone remember what that means?
S: inaudible
T: Tan, please repeat that.
S: mumbles

Needless to say, I got a U on a well planned lesson which was weakened further by the AP asking a long term ELL "Why won't you speak? I can have you moved to ESL 1 if you won't speak." Amazingly most students' would not speak up in class when a classmate was abused.

Please feel free to leave a comment sharing your reactions to this question and the ideas shared here.

Thanks to Katie and Giselle for sharing their responses!

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org.When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind. I'm way behind in acknowledging questions that have been sent in, but I promise to get caught up in the summer!

Anyone whose question is selected for this weekly column can choose one free book from a selection of twelve published by Eye On Education.

I'll be posting the next "question of the week" tomorrow.

Posted by Larry Ferlazzo at 11:21 PM | | Leave a comment | Recommend

May 09, 2012

How Do We Help Long-Term ELL's & How Does Having ELL's Affect A Teacher's Evaluation?

I'm doing something a little different today and offering two, instead of one, "questions of the week." They both relate to English Language Learners:

Question One

Anne Smith asks:

What is being done to help Long-Term English Language Learners and what does effective intervention look like?

Over the last few years, I've had quite a few students who have been in American schools since kindergarten. I teach at the Middle School level and some of these students cannot read beyond a 2nd or 3rd grade level. By the time they reach me, they feel feel they are "held hostage" in ESL and are very upset to spend ANOTHER year waiting to be released. They want to be in classes with everyone else, do not want to be identified as "ESL" and they tell me that they are stupid. What is really heartbreaking is when there are high school students in this situation. They give up, fail their classes and are at risk for dropping out of school.

Question Two

Anonymous asks:

In NYC we are learning by some half baked professional development, and drive by 10 minute observations as part of using the Danielson Rubric. It seems impossible to me that any ESL teacher could achieve any of the two highest ratings, both which require seeing a great deal of high-level student oral response and conversation.

Is the Danielson rubric being used in your school? Is it, along with the Common Core Standards, the national future? I believe she developed this for teachers to learn about improving their teaching. In a supportive environment, the potential as tool to encourage improvement is good. But for evaluating teachers it seems a poor fit.

I am getting rather unhappy teaching a beginning class of ESL and noting the near impossibility of getting either of the top two ratings. What have other teachers thought of that rubric? If verbal response is not easy, the teacher has failed to engage the class, it seems to say.

Please keep my identity anonymous if you choose this question to post. My school administration is using it to demoralize teachers.

The challenge of Long-Term English Language Learners in our classes is one facing many of us, and certainly the issue of teacher evaluation is a major national issue. Many questions remain to be answered, including ones about the effect of ELL's on different evaluation processes that are being used (and many districts are using the popular Danielson rubric).

Please share your thoughts in the comments, or, if you prefer, feel free to email them to me. What are positive classroom management strategies that you've used effectively with younger students?

Anyone whose question is selected for this weekly column can choose one free book from a selection of twelve published by Eye On Education.

You can send questions to me at lferlazzo@epe.org.When you send in your question, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

And just a reminder -- you can subscribe to this blog for free via RSS Reader or email....


Posted by Larry Ferlazzo at 10:10 PM | | Leave a comment | Recommend

May 07, 2012

Response: Several Classroom Management Ideas For Younger Students

Cheryl S. asked:

I am writing with a question regarding your blog (Response: Several Ways To Respond To "Unpredictable" Student Behavior) on responding to unpredictable student behavior.

My question is how do you apply these strategies to kindergarten students? My student is unable to control his behavior for more than a few minutes at a time, and when reminded of the expectations for behavior in a calm, supportive tone he is prone to extreme anger, including throwing chairs and running away. The only time I have ever raised my voice to him is when he had his hands around a child's neck and I needed him to drop his hands instantly - not exactly the time for a positive, nurturing reminder of making good, safe choices.

I use a calm, nurturing voice with each of my 31 students, including when my one child is making dangerous and/or disruptive choices. Older, more cognitively developed children have the ability to reason and analyze their actions on a more complex level. I want to be supportive and nurturing to this little guy, but I have 30 other 5 year olds to manage at the same time. I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Great question, Cheryl!

Since the earliest grade I've ever taught is seventh, I have to defer to others for responses to this one.

Three experienced teachers of younger children agreed to provide guest responses: Jane Ching Fung, Mathew Needleman and Tom Hobson.

Response From Jane Ching Fung

Jane Ching Fung is a National Board Certified (NBCT) first grade teacher in urban Los Angeles with 25 years of experience teaching primary grades PK-3rd grade. She is a member of the Teacher Leaders Network:

How to minimize unpredictable behaviors that negatively affect your classrooms?

Unpredictable behaviors (both positive and negative) are a common occurrence in primary classrooms. Young children view and react to the world in their own unique way. Their journey into the educational system and it's expectations, procedures, and rules is just beginning. For some, it is their first experience in a formal classroom setting. That being said, I have found that by spending extra time on the following has cut down on some of those unpredictable behaviors in my primary classroom:

PREDICTABILITY

Young children need and like predictability! There is a sense of stability in knowing that every morning you will pick them up in the same spot at the same time, or when they hear a specific song, it means time to clean up and meet on the rug. Just as adults like to have an agenda for the day, young children need one too. I write our daily agenda on the board in front of the class and go over it with my students daily. On days when there are changes to our schedule, I let them know ahead of time so they are ready for it.

COMMUNITY CONSENSUS

As a class, we discuss, evaluate, and agree on a set of classroom expectations. Together we define what they are and why they are important for our learning environment. Once expectations are clear and understood by all, we work as a team to help hold each other accountable for those expectations, and revisit them as needed throughout the year.

SHOW, NOT TELL

Young children need to know, see, and practice what is expected of them and you. I always spend extra time to model and practice classroom procedures and behavioral expectations. Don't assume that students know what you mean when you say it, show them what it looks like, and practice it with them over and over again!


PRAISE! PRAISE! PRAISE!

Highlight and celebrate the positive and minimize the negative. Young children love attention and specific praising of positive behavior or actions helps reinforce them and ensure that they will be repeated.

TAKE FIVE

Try to limit the attention given to unpredictable or negative behaviors and deal with them quickly and move on. Taking a child aside for some reflective discussion about the unwanted behavior later on, and away from the spotlight, lets you and the child focus on the specific behavior rather than the emotions the behavior might have caused.

Keeping yourself calm and collect when dealing with unpredictable behavior is ideal, but there may be situations where your first response is to keep students and yourself safe first and foremost, and then address the issue later on when things have settled down.

DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

One of the best ways to minimize unpredictable behaviors is to KNOW your students. It's okay to use creative ways to address their needs. I have had students stand to complete their work, sit in a chair rather than on the rug with the rest of the class, or squish play dough in their hands while they follow a lesson.

REWARDS

I am not a big believer in giving prizes for target behavior, but I do reward students when I catch them doing something kind or positive. Some students need the added incentive initially, while others just take pride in doing the right thing. Using table tally points not only help students work as a team to earn the privilege of eating lunch with the teacher, but also help with addition and subtraction skills. In special cases, I may work with parents to use a point system (for a target behavior) with a student to earn extra computer time or homework pass. The goal of reward systems is to faze them out when they are not needed.

Response from Mathew Needleman

Mathew Needleman has been teaching primary grades for over a decade in urban areas of the Los Angeles Unified School District. He blogs about education at Creating Lifelong Learners and can be found on twitter @mrneedleman:

I believe in reasoning and talking about behavior with all students. However, it's important to note that the purpose of reasoning with kindergarteners is to develop language around behavior and begin to develop an understanding of what's appropriate. Kindergarten students respond less to talk and more to tangible rewards that are immediate and predictable.

It's also important to target a particular behavior and supply a replacement behavior and not try to change a child's entire behavior. For example, when students speak in the middle of me speaking I cannot teach. For a child, "Henry" who talks over me frequently I would need to ignore any other bad behaviors (except for those that risk student safety) until the calling out behavior is extinguished and replaced with Henry raising his hand to be called on.

One thing I've used is a laminated grid on a students' desk. Every five minutes that Henry doesn't speak out I would mark a square on the grid. If Henry fills in a row of the grid then he gets to go to the computer, the listening center, or play with blocks for five minutes. Any time Henry speaks while I'm speaking I erase a row and Henry has to start over. As Henry gets better at stringing out longer periods of time I would increase the amount of time necessary for Henry to earn a stamp on his grid. Once the target behavior is extinguished I would move on to another behavior.

It's also worth looking at our teaching in general. If many students are calling out I would ask myself if I'm giving enough time for pair sharing in class. If many students are getting out of their seat, maybe they need more active lessons. A child who struggles with behavior is going to make mistakes but can be brought back on track with predictable rewards.

Response From Tom Hobson

Tom "Teacher Tom" Hobson is a preschool teacher, artist, and writer at Teacher Tom's Blog. For the past 10 years, he's been the only employee of the Woodland Park Cooperative preschools in Seattle, Washington:

My first reaction, Cheryl, is to point out the obvious: thirty-one kindergarteners and one teacher! That's just a set up for one kid to eat up an entire classroom, especially in the early years. Why policy-makers can't understand this is mind-blowing, but that's a rant for another day.

The bottom line is that you need more adults in the room. When kids are acting out, especially in the on-going, persistent way you describe, it's going to require the undivided attention of an adult: that's what makes the "calm, supportive" non-punitive approach work. Because I teach in a cooperative school, I have the luxury of at least a half dozen other adults in the classroom at any given moment, people who can either provide an out of control child the one-on-one connection they need, or who can take over other classroom responsibilities while I huddle up with the kid myself. You're right, reason and analysis isn't what's called for here. He needs nurturing and listening and it ain't gonna be easy with one teacher and 31 kids.

How can you get other adults in the room? Are there student teachers around? Can you persuade parents to volunteer time to help out? Does your school have other resources, like counselors, who can pitch in?

Throwing chairs and strangling, especially if they aren't just one-offs, are pretty extreme behaviors, ones that create a physical danger to the whole class, not to mention a disruption to learning. In my experience these may be signs that you're dealing with something beyond "normal" (e.g., autism spectrum, ADHD, bi-polar disorder, abuse/neglect) all of which should make the child a candidate for an IEP (Individual Education Plan) which would in all likelihood result in more resources (hopefully of the human variety) for your classroom.

You shouldn't have to deal with this alone. Being calm and supportive is the pedagogically correct way to interact with young children when they're bouncing off the walls, but you need help with this.

Please feel free to leave a comment sharing your reactions to this question and the ideas shared here.

Thanks to Jane, Mathew and Tom for sharing their responses!

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org.When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind. I'm way behind in acknowledging questions that have been sent in, but I promise to get caught up in the summer!

Anyone whose question is selected for this weekly column can choose one free book from a selection of twelve published by Eye On Education.

I'll be posting the next "question of the week" tomorrow.

Posted by Larry Ferlazzo at 9:32 PM | | Leave a comment | Recommend

May 02, 2012

How Can We Respond To "Unpredictable" Behavior From Younger Students?

Cheryl S. asks:

I am writing with a question regarding your blog (Response: Several Ways To Respond To "Unpredictable" Student Behavior) on responding to unpredictable student behavior.

My question is how do you apply these strategies to kindergarten students? My student is unable to control his behavior for more than a few minutes at a time, and when reminded of the expectations for behavior in a calm, supportive tone he is prone to extreme anger, including throwing chairs and running away. The only time I have ever raised my voice to him is when he had his hands around a child's neck and I needed him to drop his hands instantly - not exactly the time for a positive, nurturing reminder of making good, safe choices.

I use a calm, nurturing voice with each of my 31 students, including when my one child is making dangerous and/or disruptive choices. Older, more cognitively developed children have the ability to reason and analyze their actions on a more complex level. I want to be supportive and nurturing to this little guy, but I have 30 other 5 year olds to manage at the same time. I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Great question, Cheryl.

Since the earliest grade I've ever taught is seventh, I will have to defer to guests and readers to respond to this one.

Please share your thoughts in the comments, or, if you prefer, feel free to email them to me. What are positive classroom management strategies that you've used effectively with younger students?

Anyone whose question is selected for this weekly column can choose one free book from a selection of twelve published by Eye On Education.

You can send questions to me at lferlazzo@epe.org.When you send in your question, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

And just a reminder -- you can subscribe to this blog for free via RSS Reader or email....

Posted by Larry Ferlazzo at 11:16 AM | | Leave a comment | Recommend

May 01, 2012

Ed Week Readers' Ideas On How We Can Teach Social Studies More Effectively

(This is the final post in a three part series. You can see the first one here and Part Two here)

I asked:

What's the best advice you can give to Social Studies teachers who want to be more effective?

Last Tuesday, I shared guest responses from three talented and experienced educators: Stephen Lazar, Bill Bigelow, and Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez.

On Thursday, I shared contributions from Eric Langhorst, Beth Sanders and Russel Tarr.

Today, I'll briefly share my own advice and a sampling of the many ideas readers contributed.

I'd "boil down" my advice for teaching social studies -- and, in fact, for teaching just about any subject -- into a strategy that most successful community organizers use and which I call "The Organizing Cycle." It's basically looking at students through a lens of their assets and not their deficits, and more-or-less follows this sequence:

1. Build Relationships

2. Access Prior Knowledge Through Student Stories

3. Help Students Learn By Doing

4. Foster Student Leadership Potential

5. Promote Reflection

You can read more about what that might look like in a classroom room at an article I've written elsewhere, Get Organized Around Assets.

In addition to that broader advice, I thought I'd mention an idea that I'm very intrigued by and that I'm trying in my United States History classes (and in my IB Theory of Knowledge class) at this very moment: exploring "What If?" questions.

You can read more about it here, but here is how teacher Carla Federman (who borrowed the idea from Diana Laufenberg) introduced her lesson to students:

You are to identify one specific point in American history for which you are interested in changing the outcome. Once you have identified your point of divergence, you will need to consider both the immediate changes and the long-term impacts that divergence would have on modern society. You will present your "revised history" through the creation of "new" primary sources and a multimedia project.

The idea of asking "What If?" as well as "Why?" is something I want to integrate more fully in my teaching practice.

In many of our classes, I think, students tend to look at history as just the learning of facts that are set in stone and almost as destined to be...

Through a "What if?" project, my students are beginning to gain a greater grasp of the fragility, interconnections and imponderables that we confronted in our past and will face in our future.

Responses From Readers

Many readers responded, and here are just a few samples:

Mary Ann Zehr, a former writer for Education Week who became a high school social studies teacher for English Language Learners this year:

I'm just a first-year social studies teacher, but I find it's helpful to guide students with big-picture questions. Here are some of the questions I've asked them to ponder this school year in U.S. history: How did the United States get to be so big? What happened to Native Americans after Europeans began to settle in North America? How did the lives of African-Americans change and not change after the Civil War?

Asking a big question and letting the students discover parts of the answer help them to see the relevancy of what they are studying. I also encourage students to come up with big questions of their own. Here's one that a student asked: Is a country's acquiring more land always an example of imperialism?

Kara Synhorst, a very talented educator at the school where I also teach:

It seems to me that when I was in elementary school, Social Studies was just that -- a discussion of societies. I remember being entranced by pictures of Shinto shrines and being really engaged with learning about other people's religions, languages, food, and clothing. Going to the California missions has always been one of my favorite road trips. I can hardly pass the brown sign for one without pulling off the freeway. Yet in about 7th grade, history just dried up. It became all about dates and wars and rulers and lines on maps changing.

Ironically, in high school I read Sophie's Choice, Mila 18, Dawn, Night, The Diary of Anne Frank... all the while declaring that I hated history and probably failing tests on World War 2.

Too long? As a student, I wished history/social studies had been more about people. And honestly, I think the lessons we want our students to take away into the adult world are more about WHY assassinating the Archduke Ferdinand set off such a poop-storm, rather than the precise date it happened and with what caliber of gun.

Pat:

As with any grade level, it has to show relevance to the age/grade of the group you are working with. Why teach about South Dakota resources/climate/history if you live in NJ? Let them see how they are all a part of social studies and social studies is a part of all of them. Allow children to research on their own or in small cooperative groups, become a larger part of their learning. The days of opening up the book and reading have no relevance to these digital-age driven students. Open up technology to them by incorporating multiple technology sources, start a class web page to post think-about it questions as part of their homework, etc.

David Burgher:

Decide why it matters. If you don't know why what you are teaching is important for kids to know, how can you convince them it should matter to them? If what we teach isn't of value we are wasting our time and ours kids' time and that will come through in whatever lesson. You've got to find the connection between whatever social studies topic you have and the lives and futures of the students you are teaching (and help them see that connection as well).

Colette Marie Bennett offers three recommendations:

1. Collaborate:

Social studies should collaborate with other departments in delivering curriculum using either the familiar chronological approach or by using a thematic approach ("Revolutions"). Let students can see the connections between subject areas rather than see each information limited to four classroom walls. For example, students in grade 10 were reading All Quiet on the Western Front in English at the same time when WWI was being studied in Modern World History.

2. Ditch the Textbook and Increase Non-Fiction Reading:

Social studies textbooks are heavy...too heavy. Use these in class as a resource for note-taking only. Teach students about sub-headings, how to read charts and maps, and information sidebars in class, but use Livebinders.com to create online textbooks for reading home, perhaps in a flipped model, with a variety of reading materials-newspaper articles, magazine links, and websites. Use wikis to post links, upload materials, and receive comments from students. Place materials in Google Docs for student access and collaboration. Ditch the textbook!

3. Increase the Project Based Learning:

There's a lot to be said for the diorama. Every student has made at least one, and despite the loss of precious classroom real estate to 30 shoebox recreations of a medieval castle, these projects are incredibly powerful learning experiences because they are "hands-on". Debate, trials, and simulations are also all ways that project based learning can be used. Our 8th grade is recreating the Ellis Island experience in the gym and hallways next week. PE/Health teachers will be "medical inspectors"; 11th grade students who have just completed an immigration unit will be the "police" collecting student suitcases; and other teachers will serve as Ellis Island staff asking questions about employment possibilities and each immigrant's finances. Each 8th grade student has prepared an immigration profile based on research on the Ellis Island website and will be "processed" individually or in family "groups." This experience is only one of several simulations our 8th grade has used to immerse students in a historical context.

Jeff Layman:

The best advice I can give for Social Studies teachers to be more effective is this: make it more real. In any way you can. This is where the wonderful marriage of old school stuff and new school tech doesn't end in messy divorce. Learning about the slave trade? Find some shackles. Learning about Ancient Egypt? Visit the pyramids with Google Earth. The more visceral you can make it for them the more invested they'll be in the content.

Here are some "tweeted" responses:

Eric Watts:

Promote historical thinking skills and have students engage in the discipline ..... regardless of grade level.

Justin Stallings:

Social Studies teachers should be actively engaged outside the classroom. Students notice teacher engagement and when students see teachers USING what they learn in the classroom, I think students care more.

Cheryl Curtis:

Compare past events and the outcomes to current events and let the students predict possible outcomes.

Rob Ackerman:

We need to have students take on the role of historians, instead of being force fed info.

Robert Meaders:

Relevancy: we must work to show the relevancy of social studies in order to be more effective.

Please feel free to leave a comment sharing your reactions to this question and the ideas shared here.

Thanks to so many readers for sharing their responses!

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org.When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind. I'm way behind in acknowledging questions that have been sent in, but I promise to get caught up in the summer!

Anyone whose question is selected for this weekly column can choose one free book from a selection of twelve published by Eye On Education.

I'll be posting the next "question of the week" tomorrow.

Posted by Larry Ferlazzo at 10:23 AM | | Leave a comment | Recommend

April 25, 2012

Response: Additional Ways We Can Teach Social Studies More Effectively -- Part Two

(This is the second post in a three part series. You can see Part One here)

I asked:

What's the best advice you can give to Social Studies teachers who want to be more effective?

On Tuesday, I shared guest responses from three talented and experienced educators: Stephen Lazar, Bill Bigelow, and Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez.

Today's column offers responses from three more Social Studies teachers whom I know and respect: Eric Langhorst, Beth Sanders and Russel Tarr.

"Part Three" will appear next Wednesday, and will share many suggestions shared from readers (there's still time if you would like to share yours!), along with my own advice.

The next "question of the week" will appear in a week.

Response From Eric Langhorst

Eric Langhorst is an 8th grade American history teacher at South Valley Jr. High School in Liberty, Missouri and is currently enjoying his 18th year in the classroom. He was the 2008 Missouri Teacher of the Year and is currently writing his doctoral dissertation on how social studies use Twitter to collaborate. Eric maintains a blog at Speaking Of History:

I think teachers can teach social studies effectively by creating personal connections between the content and their students. This advice not only applies to social studies, but any content area. I think social studies teachers have long been victims of the stereotypical history teacher who only gives multiple choice tests on the dates of battles and offers their students a steady diet of mind dumbing worksheets and lectures. This style of teaching is an injustice for any social studies teacher to deliver considering the intriguing and dynamic content in their curriculum.

Quality social studies teachers dig deeper than trivial facts, they encourage their students to learn by facilitating personal connections. Having a personal connection doesn't mean the student must have a great grandfather that fought in the Civil War. It means that the student can find an emotional connection or reason for becoming personally invested in learning about the content. Most students will not enter your classroom with a wealth of pre existing knowledge of your history content, but they do enter with an understanding of a wide range of emotions. The 14 year old sitting in the fourth row of your 8th grade American history class needs a reason to care about the Revolutionary War. That student understands doubt, fear and perseverance - all qualities that a teacher can use to teach the plight of a teenage soldier in Washington's army.

Social studies teachers need to capitalize on the richness of their content area. The best social studies teachers today are doing this using technology, incorporating higher order thinking skills in their lessons and assessing their students using standards based grading. Students need to get their hands dirty while learning social studies content in order to help them fulfill one of the most important reasons for this content area in public education: creating an informed citizenry capable of participating in a democracy.

Response From Beth Sanders

Beth Sanders teaches 9th and 11th grade social studies at inner-city Tarrant High School in Birmingham, Alabama, where her students recently participated in the iCitizenship project. She is also a technology consultant for the Alabama Best Practices Center and a Connected Coach for the Powerful Learning Practice Network.

Before we can become more effective social studies teachers, I think we need to redefine what we teach and then remodel how we teach. I'm often frustrated with being labeled narrowly as a "history" teacher. We need to learn from the past, but we also need to be able to apply that knowledge and understanding to our own present and future. In my classroom, I support my students in creating a basic knowledge of history, but that's just the beginning. I'm most interested in helping them learn to apply history to current contexts.

To be an effective social studies teacher we don't need to look much further than the definition of our content. Social: of or relating to society, companionable, public, shared, collective, common, community. Great social studies teachers do not drill and kill, great social studies teachers do not focus on dates and names and chapter reviews, great social studies teachers do not focus on the past but rather how to get students to connect the past to the present.

Great social studies teachers emphasize ideas, causes, effects, and actions across all of society, affecting all people, and not just the "facts" included in a textbook or the "winning" side of a story. Effective social studies teachers engage today's students when we make discussing, questioning, writing, problem solving and creating on a critical level the daily norm. When we understand that each of our classrooms is itself a unique society and a place where real life not only needs to be read about and discussed, but is also happening every day, then we will become more effective. Most importantly, we will be preparing our students to enter a rapidly changing, extremely diverse, intrinsically connected society that needs more people who are prepared to listen, empathize, write, discuss, and problem solve -- not obsess on the past.

Response From Russel Tarr

Russel Tarr is the creator of activehistory.co.uk and classtools.net, two websites popular around the world among teachers and students. He is Head of History at the International School of Toulouse, France.

Russel offers several specific suggestions, including:

1. Base all your classroom lessons around questions, debates and decision-making simulations.

Start each lesson with a central question that we will be investigated so that there is an immediate sense of purpose and engagement. Investigate historical issues in the forms of debates and courtroom trials to get students using evidence critically and appreciating the importance of interpretation. For example, I study the French Revolution primarily through an extended courtroom trial of Louis XVI (me) complete with prosecution and defence teams who cross-examine the King and judges who produce 'surprise witnesses' (sources) which each team has to interpret and then persuade the judges to trust or distrust their evidence as appropriate.

When I look at the abolition of the slave trade, we adopt the format of 'The Apprentice' TV show, with each team producing a marketing campaign complete with logo, brand name, fundraising ideas, merchandise and suggested target audience. Each of these is presented to 'Lord Sugartrader' (the teacher) who interviews the team members and declares an overall winner before we compare these ideas to what was used by the real abolitionists.

Last but not least, I use interactive decision-making simulations on the computers so that students can reflect on how they would have reacted to various historical situations: for example, in role as the Kaiser before World War One, they decide how they would have reacted to the international situation as it unfolds before 1914 and thereby determine how far Wilhelm II was responsible for World War Two.

2. Infographics

I avoid getting each student to produce and then deliver a PowerPoint presentation to the rest of the class as this is very time-consuming and not particularly engaging (after the first few!). Instead I get students to produce a one-sided 'infographic' (e.g. on 'a revolution in history') using a tool like Popplet,which forces them to be much more concise and focused. We then place them all on one large display wall and students spend time spotting comparisons and contrasts between the causes and results of different revolutions - a much more efficient and engaging method.

3. Follow some Inspirational Blogs

I follow a number of history-related blogs in Google Reader (which I've organised into a bundle you can follow here and use Google Alerts to keep me posted aboutcurrent news items making mention (for example) of "Spanish Civil War" and any other topics I am currently studying with students. It all helps to keep lessons fresh.

Please feel free to leave a comment sharing your reactions to this question and the ideas shared here.

Thanks to Eric, Beth and Russel for sharing their responses!

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org.When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind. I'm way behind in acknowledging questions that have been sent in, but I promise to get caught up in the summer!

Anyone whose question is selected for this weekly column can choose one free book from a selection of twelve published by Eye On Education.

I'll be posting Part Three of this series next Tuesday and the next "question of the week" in a week.

Posted by Larry Ferlazzo at 8:57 PM | | Leave a comment | Recommend

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