Closing the Achievement Gap-TCASE FINAL...12/17/13 1!!!!...
Transcript of Closing the Achievement Gap-TCASE FINAL...12/17/13 1!!!!...
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TCASE Great Ideas Conference January 21-‐23, 2014
“Closing the Achievement Gap”
presented by:
Tamera Walker, M.Ed. Special Education Director Houston Area Special Education Co-‐op
Alice Thompson, PhD, Support Personnel Houston Area Special Education Co-‐op
* The Texas Education Agency reports that 92% of white students graduated on time in 2011. * In comparison, * only 82% of Latino students, * 81% of black students and * 84% of economically-‐disadvantaged students graduated in four years. “In a state that 60percent economically disadvantaged and 60 percent black and brown, we’ve got to be concerned about closing that racial achievement gap because indeed our demographics are changing.”
~Michael Williams, Commissioner of Education
Statistic/Research
* The disproportionate representation of children from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in special education is a longstanding national issue and continues to concern the public. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 notes that: * greater efforts are needed to prevent the intensification of
problems connected with mislabeling minority children with disabilities; * African-‐American children are identified as having mental
retardation and emotional disturbance at rates greater than their white counterparts;
Background
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* more minority children continue to be served in special education than would be expected from the percentage of minority students in the general school population;
* in the 1998-‐1999 school year, African-‐American children represented 14.8% of the population aged 6 through 21, yet comprised 20.2% of all children with disabilities served in our schools.
Background (continue)
Students in the GAP need the following for success 1. Skills/strategies/knowledge of content 2. To be goal oriented-‐MOTIVATION 3. Mentors and connections 4. Intensive, explicit, ongoing instruction 5. Comprehensive support 6. Great content instruction
Research suggest:
Reveals low-‐achievers lack strategic learning abilities: 1. Understanding what information is important to learn, and why learning it is important 2. Learning course expectations and organizing how to approach the performance standards accordingly 3. How to study effectively for a test 4. How to set goals and accurately reflect on their progress to meet the goals 5. Creating new ways to organize and categorize information over time 6. Learning how to integrate and generalize what they have learned
Research (continue)
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* Racial and ethnic minorities * English language learners * Students with disabilities * Boys/girls * Students from low-‐income families
Student Groups Experiencing
Achievement Gaps
1. Performance on tests * statewide tests, SATs, etc.
2. Access to key opportunities * advanced mathematics, physics, higher education, etc.
3. Attainments * high school diploma, college degree, employment
Indicators of Achievement Gaps
1. American Indians and Alaska Natives 2. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders 3. African Americans 4. Hispanics
Four Ethnic Groups Typically Affected by Achievement Gaps
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1. Increased content and higher expectations 2. Limited time for planning and collaboration 3. Electronic revolution 4. Greater accountability on STAAR 5. Increased Diversity
Things We Know
The Strategic Instruction Model
SIM
Content Enhancement
-‐planning routines -‐teaching routines
Learning Strategies
-‐student centered -‐intense instruction
Content Enhancement-‐is a way of teaching an academically diverse group of students in which four conditions prevail:
1. Both group and individual needs are valued and met. 2. The integrity of content is maintained. 3. Critical features of the content are selected and transformed in a way that promotes learning for all students. 4. Instruction is carried out in a partnership with students…
* a. Planning Routines * b. Teaching Routines
Content Enhancement Routines
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1. Course organizer routine-‐Teachers use this routine to position the course into a larger perspective for students so they have a clear sense of: * Where the course is headed * What the expectations are * How learning will be accomplished * How support will be provided
I. Planning Routines
2. Unit Organizer Routine is used by classroom teachers to introduce a unit to students so they can see the “Big Picture” and…
* understand their assignment * understand key relationships within the unit * understand the coming sequence of instruction
* This routine shows how to use a graphic to introduce, anchor and closure on a unit of content that takes one or more weeks to complete. * This routine will benefit a wide range of students.
Planning Routines (continue)
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3. Lesson Organizer Routine-‐is used by classroom teachers to introduce and structure a lesson for students. * This routine helps students: * Frame a lesson with larger unit and students’ previous
experiences * Focus on the types of content relationships that are
important in the lesson and type of learning strategies that will be used.
* The Routine can be used for a daily lesson or for a lesson that
lasts several days.
Planning Routines (continue)
1. Concept Anchoring Routine-‐focuses on how teachers help student connects to previously learned concepts to increase student understanding and retention of new information. * This routine shows how to use a graphic, the Anchoring Table, to present a new, difficult concept using a familiar concept selected by the teacher. * Similar characteristics possessed by the two concepts are presented and summarized.
II. Teaching Routines
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2. Concept Comparison Routine-‐teachers use this routine to help students compare and contrast key concepts. * It encourages higher-‐order thinking, as students are guided in
identifying larger categories into which the similarities and differences can be grouped. * This routine actively engages the student in creating a
summary statement that demonstrates understanding about the similarities and differences between or among concepts.
Teaching Routines (continue)
3. Concept Mastery Routine-‐focuses on how teachers can help students understand and master key concepts within the curriculum content. * The routine shows how to use a graphic, the Concept Diagram * to identify a target concept, * place that concept within a larger framework, * explore the student’s prior knowledge of the concept, * analyze both examples and non examples and construct a definition of the concept.
Teaching Routines (continue)
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Learning strategy instruction focuses on making the students more active learners by teaching them how to learn and how to
use what they have learned to solve problems and be successful.
LEARNING STRATEGY
A person’s approach to learning and using information is called a…
Students learn each strategy following these teacher-‐directed steps:
1. Pretest 2. Describe 3. Model 4. Verbal practice 5. Controlled practice 6. Grade-‐appropriate practice 7. Posttest 8. Generalization
How do Teachers Teach Learning Strategies?
Students learn a reading comprehension strategy that is remembered by acronym RAP: 1. Read a paragraph 2. Ask yourself, “what were the main idea and details in this paragraph?” 3. Put the main Idea and details into your own words
How do Teachers Teach Learning Strategies? (sample)
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Vocabulary LINC Routine
Step 1: List the parts Step 2: Identify a reminding word Step 3: Note a LINCing story Step 4: Create a LINCing picture Step 5: Self-‐test
The LINCS Strategy for Learning Vocabulary Words
1. Take an index card and divide both sides in half by drawing a lines across the middle of both sides. 2. Write the word to be learned on the top half of one side. Then circle it. 3. Write the parts of the definition you need to remember on the top of the other side. 4. Write the reminding word on bottom half of the first side.
Creating LINCS Study Cards
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5. Write the LINCing story on the bottom half of the second side. * Note a LINCing story: A phrase or sentence that connect or
links the definition of the new term to the reminding word
6. Draw the LINCing picture on the bottom half of the second side. 7. Use the card to self-‐test.
Creating LINCS Study Cards (Continue)
* Count off to make groups (number of groups will be determined by number of participants) * Select a group facilitator * Each group will make a LINC study card
Activity Make a LINC Study Card
Example of LINCS Study Cards
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LINCS Strategy Results
* When students are not making adequate progress, Content Enhancement and Learning Strategies are employed in different ways along a continuum called …Content Literacy Continuum: * Level 1. Content enhancement routines used regularly in content classes * Level 2. Learning strategies are embedded in content classes along content enhancement routines * Level 3. Intensive strategy instruction where strategy instruction and strategic tutoring are used * Level 4. Intensive Basic Skills Instruction * Level 5. Therapeutic Intervention-‐foundational language competencies
How Does SIM Work in Schools to Meet NCLB and Reduce the Gap?
1. Knowledge 2. Comprehension 3. Application 4. Analysis 5. Synthesis 6. Evaluation
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning
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Bloom’s Taxonomy definitions, examples and key words (verbs)
Category Example and Key Words (verbs)
1. Knowledge: Recall data or information.
Examples: Recite a policy. Quote prices from memory to a customer. Know the safety rules. Define a term.
Key Words: arranges, defines, describes, identifies, knows, labels, lists, matches, names, outlines, recalls, recognizes, reproduces, selects, states.
2. Comprehension: Understand the meaning, translation, interpolation, and interpretation of instructions and problems. State a problem in one's own words.
Examples: Rewrites the principles of test writing. Explain in one's own words the steps for performing a complex task. Translates an equation into a computer spreadsheet.
Key Words: comprehends, converts, defends, distinguishes, estimates, explains, extends, generalizes, gives an example, infers, interprets, paraphrases, predicts, rewrites, summarizes, translates.
Category Example and Key Words (verbs)
3. Application: Use a concept in a new situation or unprompted use of an abstraction. Applies what was learned in the classroom into novel situations in the work place.
Examples: Use a manual to calculate an employee's vacation time. Apply laws of statistics to evaluate the reliability of a written test.
Key Words: applies, changes, computes, constructs, demonstrates, discovers, manipulates, modifies, operates, predicts, prepares, produces, relates, shows, solves, uses.
4. Analysis: Separates material or concepts into component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. Distinguishes between facts and inferences.
Examples: Troubleshoot a piece of equipment by using logical deduction. Recognize logical fallacies in reasoning. Gathers information from a department and selects the required tasks for training.
Key Words: analyzes, breaks down, compares, contrasts, diagrams, deconstructs, differentiates, discriminates, distinguishes, identifies, illustrates, infers, outlines, relates, selects, separates.
Bloom’s Taxonomy (continue)
Category Example and Key Words (verbs)
5. Synthesis: Builds a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure.
Examples: Write a company operations or process manual. Design a machine to perform a specific task. Integrates training from several sources to solve a problem. Revises and process to improve the outcome.
Key Words: categorizes, combines, compiles, composes, creates, devises, designs, explains, generates, modifies, organizes, plans, rearranges, reconstructs, relates, reorganizes, revises, rewrites, summarizes, tells, writes.
6. Evaluation: Make judgments about the value of ideas or materials.
Examples: Select the most effective solution. Hire the most qualified candidate. Explain and justify a new budget.
Key Words: appraises, compares, concludes, contrasts, criticizes, critiques, defends, describes, discriminates, evaluates, explains, interprets, justifies, relates, summarizes, supports.
Bloom’s Taxonomy (continue)
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1. What does access to the general education curriculum mean in your district/campus?.
2. Who has access? 3. What does access “look” like?
Big Questions
1. Know and understand all allowable accommodations available
2. Make the ARD committee aware of all allowable accommodations and make informed decisions
3. Teach and make the accommodations accessible for students daily
4. Train general education teachers how to implement accommodations in the classroom
5. Explain what “equal access” means to all stake holders
Tips for Life Without the STAAR-‐M
6. Make sure to include LPAC on Accommodations decisions for ELL students 7. Increase rigor in placements out of the general education setting (resource, etc.) 8. Include special education teacher in general education curriculum meetings 9. Provide paraeducators curriculum and instructional strategies training
Tips for Life Without the STAAR-‐M (continue)
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* University of Kansas, Center for Research on Learning * U. S. Department of Education-‐Teacher to Teacher Initiative * edHelper * LD-‐online * TEA Website
References
Q & A