Professional Development Sessions on Instructional Rigour · Look for open-ended questions, ones...

ÓBarbara R. Blackburn www.barbarablackburnonline.com

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Professional Development Sessions

on Instructional Rigour

Created by Barbara R. Blackburn www.barbarablackburnonline.com

[email protected]

Provided to Leaders for Professional Development Use with Teachers


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Mini-ProfessionalDevelopmentSessions

BarbaraR.Blackburn,Ph.D.

www.barbarablackburnonline.com

[email protected]

ProfessionalDevelopmentOne:UnderstandingRigour

1. Assessteachers’currentunderstanding.Askteacherstoanswerthe

followingthreequestionsanonymously.Eitherhavethemanswerthemin

advanceandcollatethem,(whichyoucanhandoutfordiscussion)oruse

post-itnotes.

a. Whatisrigour?

b. Whatarestudentsdoinginarigourousclassroom?

c. Whatareteachersdoinginarigourousclassroom?

2. Afteradiscussionofteachers’perceptionsofrRigour,handoutThe

Beginner’sGuidetoRigour.Aftertheyreadit,allowthemtodiscussthe

content.Leadadiscussion,addinginformationfromthisworkshop.

3. Next,begintoshareactivities.Chooseonetothreeactivitiesatthe

beginning.Dotheactivitieswithteachers,thenallowthemtodiscusswhy

theactivitiesarerigourous.Askthemtochooseoneactivitytouseintheir

classroomduringaspecifiedtimeperiod.

ProfessionalDevelopmentTwo:MythsofRigour

1. Revisitthedefinitionofrigour.Discussanyquestions.

2. Askteacherstosharetheirclassroomexamples.Whatdidtheydo?What

worked?Whatwerechallenges?Discuss.

3. AskteacherstoreadSevenMythsofRigour.Whatistheirresponse?Dothey

seehowthemythsareuntrue?Whataretheirconcerns?Discuss.

4. Next,shareactivities.Chooseonetothreeactivities.Dotheactivitieswith

teachers,thenallowthemtodiscusswhytheactivitiesarerigourous.Ask

themtochooseoneactivitytouseintheirclassroomduringaspecifiedtime

period.


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SourcesforAdditionalActivities

ThreeStrategiestoIncreaseRigourintheClassroom(attached).

3SimpleStrategiesforMoreRigourousInstruction(attached).

Barbara’sbooks,RigourisNOTaFour-LetterWord,RigourandDifferentiationinthe

Classroom,RigourintheRTI/MTSSClassroomRigourMadeEasy,andRigourinYour

Classroom:AToolkitforTeachers.

Barbara’swebsite:www.barbarablackburnonline.com

ProfessionalDevelopmentThree:RigourousInstructionalActivities

1. Askteacherstopartnerwithacolleague.Then,eachchoosesanumber,1or

2.

2. Regroupteachersbynumber.ThoseinGroup1readThreeStrategiesto

IncreaseRigourintheClassroom(attached).ThoseinGroup2read3Simple

StrategiesforMoreRigourousInstruction(attached).

3. Eachofthetwogroupssummarizesthekeypoints,whichtheywillshare

withtheirpartners

4. Onceteachersarebackwiththeirpartners,theysharewhattheylearned

fromthearticles.Then,discussasawholegroup.

5. Askteacherstochooseoneideatoimplementintheirclassrooms.


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Copyright Permission

Granted for Use

in Schools for

Non-Profit Purposes with

Appropriate Attribution


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TheBeginner’sGuidetoUnderstandingRigour

BarbaraR.Blackburn

Rigouriscreatinganenvironmentinwhicheach

studentisexpectedtolearnathighlevels,each

studentissupportedsoheorshecanlearnathigh

levels,andeachstudentdemonstrateslearningat

highlevels(Blackburn,2008).

WhenIaminschoolsworkingwithteachers,I’moftenaskedwhyIcare

aboutrigour.Theyarealsoquicktotellmetheycareaboutrigourbecausetheyare

toldtheyhaveto.Myresponseissimple.Thereareotherreasons,suchastheclear

researchbasethatshowsourstudentsneedmorerigour,newstandardsthat

requiremorerigour,orthenumberofstudentswhograduatefromschoolill-

preparedforcollegeortheworkforce.

Butmymostimportantreasonisthis:rigourisnotaboutgivingstudents

moretodo,orpunishingthemwithmorehomework.Rigourisabouthelping

studentslearnathigherlevels,andthat’swhyIbecameateacher.

DefiningRigour

Mydefinitionofrigourhasasharpfocusoninstruction:creatingan

environmentinwhich:

eachstudentisexpectedtolearnathighlevels,

eachstudentissupportedsoheorshecanlearnathighlevels,and

eachstudentdemonstrateslearningathighlevels.

Noticewearelookingattheenvironmentyoucreate.Thetri-foldapproachto

Rigourisnotlimitedtothecurriculumstudentsareexpectedtolearn.Itismore

thanaspecificlessonorinstructionalstrategy.Itisdeeperthanwhatastudentsays

ordoesinresponsetoalesson.Truerigouristheresultofweavingtogetherall


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elementsofschoolingtoraisestudentstohigherlevelsoflearning.Let’stakea

deeperlookatthethreeaspectsofthedefinition.

ExpectingStudentstoLearnatHighLevels

Rigouriscreatinganenvironmentinwhicheachstudentisexpectedtolearnat

highlevels.Havinghighexpectationsstartswiththedecisionthateverystudent

possessesthepotentialtobehisorherbest,nomatterwhat.

Asyoudesignlessonsthatincorporatemorerigourousopportunitiesfor

learning,youwillwanttoconsiderthequestionsthatareembeddedinthe

instruction.Higher-levelquestioningisanintegralpartofarigourousclassroom.

Lookforopen-endedquestions,onesthatareatthehigherlevelsofBloom’s

TaxonomyandWebb’sDepthofKnowledge.

Itisalsoimportanttolookathowteachersrespondtostudentquestions.When

Ivisitschools,itisnotuncommontoseeteacherswhoaskhigher-levelquestions.

ButIthenseesomeofthesameteachersacceptlow-level

responsesfromstudents.Inrigourousclassroomsteachers

pushstudentstorespondathighlevels.Theyaskextending

questions.Ifastudentdoesnotknowtheanswer,theteacher

continuestoprobeandguidethestudenttoanappropriate

answer,ratherthanmovingontothenextstudent.

SupportingStudentstoLearnatHighLevels

Highexpectationsareimportant,butthemostrigourousschoolsassurethat

eachstudentissupportedsoheorshecanlearnathighlevels,whichisthesecond

partofourdefinition.Itisessentialthatteachersdesignlessonsthatmovestudents

tomorechallengingworkwhilesimultaneouslyprovidingongoingscaffoldingto

supportstudents’learningastheymovetothosehigherlevels.

Providingadditionalscaffoldingthroughoutlessonsisoneofthemost

importantwaystosupportstudents.Thiscanoccurinavarietyofways,butit

requiresthatteachersaskthemselvesduringeverystepoftheirlesson,“Whatextra

supportmightmystudentsneed?”


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EnsuringStudentsDemonstrateLearningatHighLevels

Thethirdcomponentofarigourous

classroomprovideseachstudentwith

opportunitiestodemonstratelearningathigh

levels.WhatI’velearnedisthatifwewant

studentstoshowustheyunderstandwhatthey

learnedatahighlevel,wealsoneedtoprovide

opportunitiesforstudentstodemonstratethey

havetrulymasteredthatlearning.Onewayto

accomplishthatisthroughincreasedstudent

engagement.

Optionsincluderequiringallstudentsto

respondeitherthroughpair-share,thumbsupor

down,writinganansweronsmallwhiteboards

andsharingtheirresponse,orrespondingona

handheldcomputerthattalliesresponses.Such

activitiesholdeachstudentaccountablefor

demonstratingtheirunderstanding.

Studentsshouldalsodemonstratelearningatahighlevel.AsImentioned

earlier,usingtoolssuchasBloom’sTaxonomyorWebb’sDepthofKnowledge

(webbalign.org)canhelpyouensurethatstudentsareworkingathigherlevelsof

criticalthinking.

Conclusion

Rigourismuchmorethanassigningmoreworkforstudentstocomplete.

TrueRigourinvolvesincreasingexpectationsforstudents,providingsupportand

scaffoldingsotheycanbesuccessful,andgivingthemopportunitiestodemonstrate

theirunderstandingathigherlevelsofthinking.

Source: http://www.barbarablackburnonline.com/Rigour/


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SevenMythsofInstructionalRigour

Instructionalrigourisoneofthemostdiscussedtopicsineducationtoday.Butthere

ismuchdebateoverwhatrigourisandisnot.Let'slookatsevenmyths,thena

concretedefinitionoftheactualmeaning.

MythOne:Lotsofhomeworkisasignofrigour.

Formanypeoplethebestindicatorofrigouristheamountofhomeworkrequiredof

students.Someteacherspridethemselvesontheamountofhomeworkexpectedof

theirstudents,andthereareparentswhojudgeteachersbyhomeworkquantity.

Realistically,allhomeworkisnotequallyuseful.Someofitisjustbusywork,

assignedbyteachersbecauseprincipalsorparents

expectit.Forsomestudents,doingmorehomeworkin

termsofquantityleadstoburnout.Whenthatoccurs,

studentsarelesslikelytocompletehomework,andmay

bediscouragedaboutanylearningactivity.

MythTwo:Rigourmeansdoingmore.

“Doingmore”oftenmeansdoingmorelow-levelactivities,frequentlyrepetitionsof

thingsalreadylearned.Suchnarrowandrigidapproachestolearningdonotdefine

arigourousclassroom.Studentslearninmanydifferentways.Justasinstruction

mustvarytomeettheindividualneedsofstudents,somusthomework.Rigourous

andchallenginglearningexperienceswillvarywiththestudent.Theirdesignwill

vary;aswilltheirduration.Ultimately,itisthequalityoftheassignmentthatmakes

adifferenceintermsofrigour.

MythThree:Rigourisnotforeveryone.

Someteachersthinktheonlywaytoassuresuccessforeveryoneistolower

standardsandlessenrigour.Thismaymaskahiddenbeliefthatsomestudentscan’t

reallylearnathighlevels.YoumayhaveheardofthePygmalionEffect--studentslive


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uptoordowntoourexpectationsofthem.EachstudentcancompleteRigourous

workathighlevels,whethertheyareadvancedorastudentwithspecialneeds.

Doestheendresultlookdifferentforthosetwostudents?Yes,butIknowfrommy

ownexperienceasateacherofstrugglingstudentsreadingfarbelowtheirgrade

levelthatanyteachercanberigourous,andanystudentcanreachhigherlevelswith

therightsupport.

MythFour:Providingsupportmeanslesseningrigour.

InAmerica,webelieveinruggedindividualism.Wearetopull

ourselvesupbyourbootstrapsanddothingsonourown.Working

inteamsoracceptinghelpisoftenseenasasignofweakness.

Supportingstudentssothattheycanlearnathighlevelsiscentralto

thedefinitionofrigour.Asteachersdesignlessonsmovingstudents

towardmorechallengingworktheymustprovidescaffoldingto

supportthemastheylearn.

MythFive:ResourcesequalRigour.

Recently,I’veheardacommonrefrain.“Ifwebuythisprogram,ortextbook,or

technology,thenwewouldberigourous.”Therightresourcescancertainlyhelp

increasetherigourinyourclassroom.However,raisingthelevelofrigourforyour

studentsisnotdependentontheresourcesyouhave.Thinkabouttheresourcesyou

havenow.Howcanyouusethemmoreeffectively?Doyouuseatextbookthat

includestrue-falsetests?Often,theyarenotrigourousbecausestudentscanguess

theanswer.However,addonestepformorerigour.Askstudentstorewriteallfalse

answersintotruestatements,anditrequiresstudentstodemonstratetrue

understanding.It’snottheresources;it’showyouusethemthatmakeadifference.

MythSix:Standardsalonetakecareofrigour.

Standardsalone,eveniftheyarerigourous,donotguaranteerigourinthe

classroom.Manystandardsaredesignedtoincreasethelevelofrigourin

classrooms.However,ifimplementedwithouthighlevelsofquestioningor


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applications,thestandardsthemselvesareweakened.Yourinstructionalpractices,

orhowyouimplementstandards,arejustascriticalasthecurriculum.

MythSeven:Rigourisjustonemorethingtodo.

Rigourisnotanotherthingtoaddtoyourplate.Instead,

Rigourisincreasingthelevelofexpectationofwhatyou

arealreadydoing.Forexample,ifyouareteaching

vocabulary,insteadofaskingstudentstowritetheirown

definitionoftheword,askthemtowriteariddle.It’sthe

sameendresult,butathigherlevelsofBloom’sTaxonomy.

AFinalNote

Despiteitsreputation,thewordrigourdoesnothavetobeanegativeinyour

classroom.Trueinstructionalrigouris"creatinganenvironmentinwhicheach

studentisexpectedtolearnathighlevels,eachstudentissupportedsoheorshe

canlearnathighlevels,andeachstudentdemonstrateslearningathighlevels

(WilliamsonandBlackburn,2011)."

References

Blackburn,B.(2014).RigourinYourClassroom:AToolkitforTeachers.NewYork,

NY:Routledge.

Blackburn,B.(2014).RigourisNOTaFour-LetterWord.NewYork,NY:Routledge.

BloomB.S.(1956).TaxonomyofEducationalObjectives,HandbookI:TheCognitive

Domain.NewYork:DavidMcKayCoInc.

Williamson,R.&Blackburn,B.(2011).RigourinYourSchool:AToolkitforLeaders.

NewYork,NY:Routledge.

Source:http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/7-myths-about-Rigour-in-the-

classroom/


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RigourMadeEasy:

ThreeStrategiestoIncreaseRigourintheClassroom

IncreasingRigourThroughRiddles

First,let’slookatawaytoincreasetherigourofvocabulary.Usually,weask

studentstodemonstratetheirunderstandingofawordorconceptbyrestatingthe

definitionintheirownwords,orbyusingitinasentence.Oftentimes,students

simplymemorizethedefinitionlongenoughtocompletetheactivityandtakeatest,

ratherthantrulyunderstandingthewordorconcept.

Toincreasetherigour,askstudentstowriteariddle

aboutthewordorconcept.Inadditiontoknowingwhat

somethingmeans,theymustturnthatinformationintoclues

sothatotherstudentscanguesstheanswer.

Pricesgoup.

Yourwalletisthinner.

Youpaytwiceasmuch

Toprovidefamilydinner.

Answer:Inflation

IncreasingRigourThroughProblem-Solving

Next,whenwestartalesson,wetypicallytellstudentswhatwewilllearn

aboutthatday.Weareassumingtheydonotknowanythingyet,sowedoallthe

talking.That’snotveryrigourous.Wecanturnthataroundandmakeallour

introductionsmoreaboutproblem-solvinganddiscoveryinasimpleway.Three

Alikeisagameinwhichtheteacherprovidesthreeexamplestothestudents,and

thenasksthegrouptoguesswhatheorshewillbeteachingabouttoday.Rather

thansaying,“I’mgoingtobeteachingaboutnegativeintegerstoday.”,theteacher

says,“NoticeIhavethreenumbersonthescreen(-5,-14,-25).Whatdotheyhavein


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common?”Atleastonestudentintheroomprobablyknowstheanswer,thenyou

canbuildoffthatinformationasthelessoncontinues.

OncestudentsareadeptatThreeAlike,youcanincreasetherigouragainby

playingtheRedHerringGame.Inthisgame,youprovidefourexamples.Students

mustidentifytheonethatdoesnotbelong,andjustifytheiranswer.Forexample,

“Whichofthesedoesnotbelong:NewSouthWales,Tasmania,Sydney,orVictoria?”

TheanswerisSydney,becauseitisnotastate.Thiscanintroduceyourdiscussion

ofstatesandcities.

Oncestudentsarefamiliarwithbothgames,youcanshifttheownershipto

them.Theycomeupwiththeexamples,andtheirclassmatesmustguessthe

answers.

IncreasingRigourThroughVariousPointsofView

Finally,it’simportanttolookatasituationthroughavarietyofperspectives.

WhenIwasateacher,Iusedsix-sidedcubestoencouragethinkingaboutanissue.

Eachsideofthecubehadaprompt,suchas“applyit”,“analyzeit”,etc.Itwas

effective,butnotforeveryassignment.Italsodidn’tencouragegroupproblem-

solving.AnotheralternativeistheuseofThinkingHats.Withthisactivity,students

areplacedingroupsofsix,andeachoneisassignedarole,orhat.Noticefromthe

descriptionsbelowtheperspectiveorassignmentforeachstudent.


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ThinkingHats

• TheWhiteHatcallsforinformationknownorneeded.“Thefacts,justthe

facts.”

• TheYellowHatsymbolizesbrightnessandoptimism.Underthishatyou

explorethepositivesandprobeforvalueandbenefit.

• TheBlackHatisjudgment—thedevil’sadvocateorwhysomethingmay

notwork.Spotthedifficultiesanddangers—wherethingsmightgowrong.

(Itendtochangethistopurpleratherthanblack)Probablythemost

powerfulandusefulofthehatsbutaproblemifoverused.

• TheRedHatsignifiesfeelings,hunchesandintuition.Whenusingthishat

youcanexpressemotionsandfeelingsandsharefears,likes,dislikes,

loves,andhates.

• TheGreenHatfocusesoncreativity—thepossibilities,alternatives,and

newideas.It’sanopportunitytoexpressnewconceptsandnew

perceptions.

• TheBlueHatisusedtomanagethethinkingprocess.It’sthecontrol

mechanismthatensurestheSixThinkingHats®guidelinesareobserved.

Source:www.debonogroup.com/6hats.htm

Imagineusingthiswhenanalyzinganissueinascienceclass,suchas

whetherdeniers(orsupporters)ofclimatechangeshouldbeabletousesocial

mediatopromotetheiragenda.Thewhitehatstudentpointsoutthefactsofthe

issue,suchasthefirstamendment.Theyellowhatlooksforthepositiveaspectsin

theissues,orthebenefits.Black,orpurpleplaysthedevil’sadvocate.Whatarethe

difficulties?Wheremightsomethinggowrongwiththisissue?Howmighttheuse

ofsocialmediapromotetheiragendaanddamageAustralia?Theredhatfocuseson

emotions,bothpositiveandnegative.Whatemotionsdrivetheargumentoverthis

issue?Greenlooksatthecreativenatureoftheissue,withpossibilities,solutions,


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andnewideas.Finally,thebluehatisthemanageroftheprocess,ensuringthatall

perspectivesareaddressed.

Imaginehowmuchmoredepthofdiscussionandanalysistakesplacewhen

lookingattheissuefromallperspectives.YouhaveraisedtheRigourofthe

assignmentandengagedstudentsatahigherlevel.

Conclusion

Raisingthelevelofrigourinyourclassroomdoesnothavetobedifficultora

separatelesson.Rather,usingcreativeandengaginginstructionalstrategiesthat

pushstudentstohigherlevelsofthinkingcanoccurasaregularpartofyour

instruction.

Source:http://www.middleweb.com/27750/Rigour-made-easy-3-ways-to-go-

deeper/


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3 Simple Strategies for More Rigourous Instruction

Let’s look at options to increase the depth of your instruction. What you’ll notice

throughout the activities is a shift to student ownership of learning, as well as the need to

think at higher levels to complete the activities.

Real-Life Learning

We often talk about the importance of real-life learning in the classroom. However,

many times we have students complete application activities at the end of a lesson. In a

rigourous classroom, we can flip this to apply the inductive model. Jessica Guidry, one

of my former students, designed an ecology unit for her science classroom that applies

this principle. Her students were introduced to the unit with the following task:

You are an ecologist from Rock Hill, South

Carolina. Recently, members of the United

Nations have come together and decided that

they must eliminate one biome to make room

for the world’s growing human population. You

and a group of your peers have decided to take a stand. You will each

choose one biome to present to the United Nations in New York City this

April. It is very important that you persuade the members of the UN to

keep your chosen biome alive! The UN has asked that you write a

persuasive essay to present to the audience. They also asked that you

bring visuals and information about your references. You must be sure

that you include how your biome benefits the world population. You need

to include information about the habitats, populations, animals, plants,

and food chains of your biome.


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Throughout the unit, she integrated a variety of other open-ended projects, such as

creating a flip book promoting their biome, participating in a debate, and creating food

chains/webs in addition to the regular mix of lecture, guided discussion, and laboratory

activities. However, since she began with the open-ended, authentic situation, her

students were more engaged and challenged throughout the lessons.

Video Reporting

One of my son’s favorite activities is recording his

friends skateboarding and editing the clips. He used these

techniques in his maths class to analyze the maths skills

used in skateboarding. Given a choice of assignments, he

would rather create a video than write a paper.

Students can create a video report on a wide range of topics in almost any class.

Simply start with a topic, ask students to choose a perspective, and start filming. I’ve

seen this used for students to create character profiles, job descriptions, and mini-talk

shows. It’s an engaging, motivating activity. However, as with all activities, provide

structure and guidelines to ensure students move beyond a basic assignment to one that

requires higher levels of thinking.

Sample Video Reporting Activities

Interview with a Historical Figure

News Report of a Current or Past Event

Profile of Math Applications of a Sport

Demonstration of the Water Cycle

Model Job Interview

Virtual Tours

Another effective way to use technology in the classroom is to conduct virtual

field trips. In today’s budget-conscious schools, this is particularly helpful. Imagine the

activities you can integrate into the classroom with a virtual tour of the Smithsonian.

However, it’s important to remember that the field trip itself should not be the end result.

Any tour should be linked to your standards, and the activities should result in increased


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learning related to your objectives. In the sample

below, a visit to the Louvre was linked to a study of

Egyptian history. With adaptations of the assignments,

it could easily be used in a high school art class.

The Louvre Visit

Today we are going to take an exciting trip to Paris, France! Your ticket is

http://www.louvre.fr/en and your vehicle is your computer, tablet or phone. Please

read the instructions carefully so your trip is not wasted. I want you to have fun and

learn something new in the process. We will have a round-table discussion on our

magnificent trip Friday. Have fun and I can’t wait to hear about your adventure!

1. Asyourtourguide,IsuggestyoulearnsomeinformationabouttheLouvre

Museumbecauseyoubeginyourtour.StartattheCollectionandLouvre

Palacelink.ReadtheinformationaboutthehistoryofTheLouvre.Youarein

Parisandyoucallhometotalktosomeoneyourlove.Tellthemaboutthe

Louvre’shistoryin3-5sentences.Includewhythemuseumwasestablished

andhowithasbeenimportanttoFrance.

2. Nowyouarereadytotakeyourtour.UsingthesamelinkgotoOnline

Tours.Choosefollowingtour:EgyptianAntiquities,Walkaroundonthe

floortoseveralareas.Spend10minuteslearninghowtonavigatethrough

themuseumfloor.Gotothehelpmenuforwaystobetternavigatethetour.

3. Chooseonesculpturefromyourtour.Analyzehowitreflectsthecultureof

Egypt.

4. Interprettheartwork.Communicatetheartist'sstatement.Describewhat

you

think the artist is trying to say through the work of art. Expound on the feeling

conveyed by the artwork. Describe what the artwork means to you, and why.

Explain what you feel is the artist's intended purpose for creating that particular

work of art. Examine why the artist made the choices in technique, materials


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and subject matter and how they relate to the intended purpose. Your narrative

should be approximately one page.

**Note—for more suggestions, visit http://www.wikihow.com/Critique-

Artwork (the suggestions in number 4 are an excerpt from this site).

NOTE: Ideas for other content areas:

Maths: Students can plan the trip to the Louvre, look up the flight, and calculate the

cost. Social Studies: Plan what to take and how to pack, discuss how to prepare to visit

the country, learn about Paris, and the French government. Also discuss the history of

Egypt and the symbolism of the historical time period. Language Arts: How did the

authors and poets of Egypt impact the culture? Also teach about critiques and writing

the analysis.

A Final Note

Each of these shows how rigour can be a part of your instruction. You don’t need to

throw out everything you are doing; rather, take what you are doing and step it up a

notch.

Source https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/3-simple-strategies-Rigourous-

instruction/

Professional Development Sessions on Instructional Rigour · Look for open-ended questions, ones...

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