Eric C. Sheninger's Blog, page 47
July 3, 2016
Asking the Right Questions About Mobile Learning
As of late I have been engaged in a great amount of work either assisting districts and schools as they begin to implement mobile learning (1:1, BYOD) or helping them get their programs on track. Over six and a half years ago I helped successfully implement a Bring Your Own Device initiative in my school. Not only were we the first to do it in my state, but there weren't many great examples to pull from at the time. Thus, many lessons were learned the hard way. It is important to remember that change has to be treated like a process as opposed to one single event. The success of mobile learning relies on proper planning, reflection, and evaluation to improve.
Image credit: http://elearningbrothers.com/wp-conte...
The key to successfully implementing sustainable change begins with asking the right question(s). Below are some questions to help you ascertain where you are, but more importantly, where you want to be with either 1:1 or BYOD.
Is your infrastructure ready? Has an infrastructure audit been completed?Have you developed a shared vision that takes into account staff, student, and community input? For success, all stakeholders must be on board and have clear outcomes developed.Have you developed a strategic plan to ensure the initiative will positively impact student learning? How will you measure success and evaluate effectiveness? Has curriculum been updated and other resources explored?Have you created policies that protect students and staff while promoting creativity?Has staff been trained in digital pedagogy (lesson/project design, assessment, etc.)? Do they possess the confidence to integrate the devices with purpose to support/enhance learning? Have administrators been trained on digital pedagogical techniques in order to provide valuable feedback to staff? Have fears and challenges been addressed? How will equity be ensured in a BYOD environment? What will you do if students forget their devices, don’t have them, or have no access to WiFi outside of school?Has a plan been developed to train students? What will be done to educate parents?How will you build community support?What evidence will be provided to the BOE and community that the initiative is a success?Determine where you want to be and how you are going to get there with your mobile initiative. Once you have answers to the previous questions reflect on the drivers of a successful mobile learning initiative to ensure that the stage is set for improved student learning outcomes.
Image credit: http://elearningbrothers.com/wp-conte...The key to successfully implementing sustainable change begins with asking the right question(s). Below are some questions to help you ascertain where you are, but more importantly, where you want to be with either 1:1 or BYOD.
Is your infrastructure ready? Has an infrastructure audit been completed?Have you developed a shared vision that takes into account staff, student, and community input? For success, all stakeholders must be on board and have clear outcomes developed.Have you developed a strategic plan to ensure the initiative will positively impact student learning? How will you measure success and evaluate effectiveness? Has curriculum been updated and other resources explored?Have you created policies that protect students and staff while promoting creativity?Has staff been trained in digital pedagogy (lesson/project design, assessment, etc.)? Do they possess the confidence to integrate the devices with purpose to support/enhance learning? Have administrators been trained on digital pedagogical techniques in order to provide valuable feedback to staff? Have fears and challenges been addressed? How will equity be ensured in a BYOD environment? What will you do if students forget their devices, don’t have them, or have no access to WiFi outside of school?Has a plan been developed to train students? What will be done to educate parents?How will you build community support?What evidence will be provided to the BOE and community that the initiative is a success?Determine where you want to be and how you are going to get there with your mobile initiative. Once you have answers to the previous questions reflect on the drivers of a successful mobile learning initiative to ensure that the stage is set for improved student learning outcomes.
June 27, 2016
Inspiring Students: Bringing Awe Back to Learning
Awe might seem like just another three-letter word, but it is so much more. A recent New York Times article detailed how humans can get goose bumps when we experience awe, that often-positive feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends our understanding of the world. It is a catalyst that can motivate people to do more good. The article also highlighted the research of Paul Piff and Dacher Keltner who found that awe helps bind us to others, motivating us to act in collaborative ways that enable strong groups and cohesive communities.
Think back to the last time you experienced awe and think about how this impacted you. I would wager that many specific experiences come to mind, which is not very surprising at all. Descriptors such as awesome, jaw dropping, satisfying, and rapturous probably come to mind. The power of awe cannot be overstated. It is a huge component of life—it’s hardwired in our brains. When we experience the sensation of awe, we are consumed by wonder, relevancy, emotion, engagement, inspiration, and real-world connections. Jason Silva considers awe to be a pivotal ingredient in making ideas resonate. Check out his Shots of Awe YouTube series and you will see exactly what I am talking about. Below is the one video of his that got me hooked. Excuse the pun, but you will be “awed” while watching it.
The more I read about awe, the more convinced I become about how important it is in our lives. In an article published in The Atlantic titled Making Time for Awe, various research studies support the many benefits of having our minds blown. Researchers from Stanford and the University of Minnesota found the following in a recent study:
We have a responsibility to awe and students need us to bring this element into their daily learning experiences, such as those aligned to Quad D of the Rigor Relevance Framework. To do this we must innovate our practice. In my definition innovation is creating, implementing, and sustaining transformative ideas that instill awe to improve learning. Increases in our willingness to innovate can result in disruptive changes to learning.
Disruption in a way that facilitates improved learning opportunities that engage and empower students through awe should be the goal. In order to drive innovation there has to be a focus on changing learner needs, evolving technologies, changing the learning environment, and bold ideas.
Schools and educators can advantage of inherent stimuli in these drivers to create better, more meaningful learning experiences for students that leverage the power of awe. Building off a sound pedagogical foundation rooted in rigor, relevance, and relationships, the drivers of innovation can bring awe back into learning. Let’s look quickly at these drivers in a bit more detail:
Evolving Technologies – Technology continues to change at a rapid pace, which presents education with some exciting opportunities to awe learners. Some examples include augmented reality, virtual reality, open education resources (OER), adaptive tools, coding, drones/robotics, and gamification. With all the excitement and possibilities it is important to remember that pedagogy trumps technology if the goal is meaningful student learning.Changing Learning Environment – You can have all the best technology and digital pedagogical techniques, but if the learning environment remains unchanged the results that we yearn for might never materialize. Learner designed spaces emphasize comfort, flexibility, choice, and the use of authentic tools. They are reflective of the real world, leverage the outdoors, and capitalize on mobile technology.Changing Learner Needs – Learners crave a greater purpose and sense of relevance in their learning. We must seize on the gift that access to the real-time web provides to foster student learning anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. Awe can be cultivated in both personal and personalized learning opportunities where the main motivation comes from student agency. This all culminates in a shift from consumption to creation and curating as a means for students to awe us in their learning experiences.Bold Ideas – There needs to be a shift from business as usual to business as unusual. Ideas that are bold work to counteract the status quo and current education reform policies. We must work to elevate the profession, integrate more play in the school day, embrace failure throughout the system, redefine success and learning, and provide meaningful professional learning with accountability.
To inspire students we must make a concerted effort to bring the awe back into learning. This is not an easy journey, but one that is well worth the potential hardship.
Think back to the last time you experienced awe and think about how this impacted you. I would wager that many specific experiences come to mind, which is not very surprising at all. Descriptors such as awesome, jaw dropping, satisfying, and rapturous probably come to mind. The power of awe cannot be overstated. It is a huge component of life—it’s hardwired in our brains. When we experience the sensation of awe, we are consumed by wonder, relevancy, emotion, engagement, inspiration, and real-world connections. Jason Silva considers awe to be a pivotal ingredient in making ideas resonate. Check out his Shots of Awe YouTube series and you will see exactly what I am talking about. Below is the one video of his that got me hooked. Excuse the pun, but you will be “awed” while watching it.
The more I read about awe, the more convinced I become about how important it is in our lives. In an article published in The Atlantic titled Making Time for Awe, various research studies support the many benefits of having our minds blown. Researchers from Stanford and the University of Minnesota found the following in a recent study:
"Participants "who felt awe, relative to other emotions, felt they had more time available, were less impatient, were more willing to volunteer their time to help others, and more strongly preferred experiences over material goods." Awe is an experience of such perceptual expansion that you need new mental maps to deal with its incomprehensibility."Applying this concept to education is both exciting and depressing. Awe is a driving force for learning that will not just benefit our students now, but also well into their future. However, traditional views and functions of school deprive many students from experiencing the joy and power of awe as a catalyst for meaningful learning. Current policies in many (not all) schools focus on control, compliance, conformity, and rules that don’t awe our learners. Data from a recent Gallop Poll shared and analyzed by Dr. Scott McLeod shows what many of us know - students are disengaged, bored, and disempowered. Systemic change is needed even in schools where there are isolated pockets of excellence, as all students should be exposed to the power of awe.
We have a responsibility to awe and students need us to bring this element into their daily learning experiences, such as those aligned to Quad D of the Rigor Relevance Framework. To do this we must innovate our practice. In my definition innovation is creating, implementing, and sustaining transformative ideas that instill awe to improve learning. Increases in our willingness to innovate can result in disruptive changes to learning.
Disruption in a way that facilitates improved learning opportunities that engage and empower students through awe should be the goal. In order to drive innovation there has to be a focus on changing learner needs, evolving technologies, changing the learning environment, and bold ideas.
Schools and educators can advantage of inherent stimuli in these drivers to create better, more meaningful learning experiences for students that leverage the power of awe. Building off a sound pedagogical foundation rooted in rigor, relevance, and relationships, the drivers of innovation can bring awe back into learning. Let’s look quickly at these drivers in a bit more detail:
Evolving Technologies – Technology continues to change at a rapid pace, which presents education with some exciting opportunities to awe learners. Some examples include augmented reality, virtual reality, open education resources (OER), adaptive tools, coding, drones/robotics, and gamification. With all the excitement and possibilities it is important to remember that pedagogy trumps technology if the goal is meaningful student learning.Changing Learning Environment – You can have all the best technology and digital pedagogical techniques, but if the learning environment remains unchanged the results that we yearn for might never materialize. Learner designed spaces emphasize comfort, flexibility, choice, and the use of authentic tools. They are reflective of the real world, leverage the outdoors, and capitalize on mobile technology.Changing Learner Needs – Learners crave a greater purpose and sense of relevance in their learning. We must seize on the gift that access to the real-time web provides to foster student learning anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. Awe can be cultivated in both personal and personalized learning opportunities where the main motivation comes from student agency. This all culminates in a shift from consumption to creation and curating as a means for students to awe us in their learning experiences.Bold Ideas – There needs to be a shift from business as usual to business as unusual. Ideas that are bold work to counteract the status quo and current education reform policies. We must work to elevate the profession, integrate more play in the school day, embrace failure throughout the system, redefine success and learning, and provide meaningful professional learning with accountability.
To inspire students we must make a concerted effort to bring the awe back into learning. This is not an easy journey, but one that is well worth the potential hardship.
June 19, 2016
Finding the Right Tools
For technology to have an effective impact on student learning a solid pedagogical foundation needs to be in place. In my mind, pedagogy trumps technology and the importance of instructional design cannot be overstated. With this foundation in place the possibilities to empower students to take ownership over their learning and demonstrate conceptual mastery are limitless. Even if you are not a fan of technology it is hard to ignore the many benefits. As Donald Norman stated, “I'm not a fan of technology. I'm a fan of pedagogy, of understanding how people learn and the most effective learning methods. But technology enables some exciting changes.”
Image credit: https://elearningindustry.com
Whether you are a technology fan or not, the key to success lies in our ability to integrate technology to support or enhance learning while providing students with skills that will prepare them for their future. This can be a seamless process like reviewing prior learning, checking for understanding, closure, or formative assessment. It can also be more elaborate where students select the right tool for the right task to construct new knowledge or authentically apply what they have learned. Either way technology provides an improved method to do both.
Once there is a clear vision and plan for integrating technology in the classroom, the next challenge for many educators and students alike is finding appropriate tools the align to the content, age group of the students, platform, standards, and budget. The good news here is that there are many go-to resources right at your fingertips to either help you in your classroom or to make recommendations to teachers if you are an administrator. Here are my three favorites:
Edshelf – The motto here is simple, yet powerful. Find the right educational tools for your needs. Edshelf represents a socially curated discovery engine of websites, mobile apps, desktop programs, and electronic products for teaching and learning. Click on search for the perfect tool and begin to narrow down your search by price, platform, subject, age, and category. Graphite by Common Sense Media – A free platform that saves you time by making it easy to discover the best apps, games, and websites for the classroom. It contains thousands of edtech tool reviews and also allows you to browse by subject and standard. There is also an option to search teacher-created lesson plans. Tech Tools by Subject and Skills – A fantastic resource created by EdTechTeacher that has curated resources by academic subject, topics, and learning activity. It is pretty straight forward and to the point, which is something that I think all can appreciate. Just knowing about all the latest tools and apps doesn't cut it. Technology will not transform education. Educators and students who utilize technology effectively will. Focus on the why and then the how with the right tool for the right task.
Image credit: https://elearningindustry.comWhether you are a technology fan or not, the key to success lies in our ability to integrate technology to support or enhance learning while providing students with skills that will prepare them for their future. This can be a seamless process like reviewing prior learning, checking for understanding, closure, or formative assessment. It can also be more elaborate where students select the right tool for the right task to construct new knowledge or authentically apply what they have learned. Either way technology provides an improved method to do both.
Once there is a clear vision and plan for integrating technology in the classroom, the next challenge for many educators and students alike is finding appropriate tools the align to the content, age group of the students, platform, standards, and budget. The good news here is that there are many go-to resources right at your fingertips to either help you in your classroom or to make recommendations to teachers if you are an administrator. Here are my three favorites:
Edshelf – The motto here is simple, yet powerful. Find the right educational tools for your needs. Edshelf represents a socially curated discovery engine of websites, mobile apps, desktop programs, and electronic products for teaching and learning. Click on search for the perfect tool and begin to narrow down your search by price, platform, subject, age, and category. Graphite by Common Sense Media – A free platform that saves you time by making it easy to discover the best apps, games, and websites for the classroom. It contains thousands of edtech tool reviews and also allows you to browse by subject and standard. There is also an option to search teacher-created lesson plans. Tech Tools by Subject and Skills – A fantastic resource created by EdTechTeacher that has curated resources by academic subject, topics, and learning activity. It is pretty straight forward and to the point, which is something that I think all can appreciate. Just knowing about all the latest tools and apps doesn't cut it. Technology will not transform education. Educators and students who utilize technology effectively will. Focus on the why and then the how with the right tool for the right task.
June 12, 2016
Mistakes Make Us Human
Recently I was able to enjoy some time home with my family after what had been a brutal stretch on the road speaking and presenting. My wonderful wife had been holding the fort down in my absence so I was ready and willing to help her out in any way that I could. Thus, she asked if I could take our daughter to cheer practice the entire week and I immediately obliged. Now, being a cheer dad is serious business and those of you reading this who are in a similar position know what I am talking about.
My wife laid out specific instructions repeatedly as to what I had to do during the Thursday practice as my daughter had a flyer and tumbling class back to back. For the flyer class she needed these special stretch bands that were in the glove compartment of the car. Not only did I have to remember to get them out of the glove compartment, but I also had to remind my daughter to give them back to me after the practice because apparently she has a tendency herself to leave them around the gym. This should be a piece of cake.
A few days later my wife asked me if I had gotten the elastic bands back from my daughter after the practice. I immediately looked perplexed. I knew that she used them during practice as I distinctly remembered taking them out of the glove compartment of the car and my daughter and I proceeded to shoot them at each other like rubber bands. The problem though was that that was the last I saw of them. After conferring with my daughter later that day, I did in fact forget to remind her to give them to me after practice. My wife just shook her head with a smirk and nicely reminded me how many times I was told what to do. Alas, I made yet another mistake.
Image credit: http://wealwaysbelieve.blogspot.com/
I make mistakes all the time and have since birth. To be honest, I have made so many mistakes during my lifetime and will continue to do so. Everyone makes them. This does not make me, or virtually anyone else on this planet, a bad person as we all succumb to this. Many mistakes we make both professionally and personally are not part of some larger agenda. Sometimes it is because we don’t listen or fully process what we heard. At other times there is a lapse of judgment or lack of understanding, context, or the entire story. Many times mistakes just happen with no rhyme or reason. This is all a part of being human. Admitting, learning from, and moving on after a mistake is made is all that matters. Some of the best learning experiences I have carried with me for years have occurred after a mistake was made. Own your mistakes, but don't let them own you!
Being human and making mistakes is not a reason to attack, berate, chastise, ignore, give up, or treat other adults or students differently. It perplexes me to this day how anyone can hold a grudge against someone who makes a mistake. Chances are that very same person has made his or her share of them. This is hypocritical to say the least. Students deserve the most slack when a mistake is made. How one reacts could very well determine their willingness to learn in the future. When it comes to adults, take the time to make the other person aware of his/her mistake and provide practical advice on how to overcome and learn from it. Most importantly, if the mistake is significant provide the needed support and be there. Ultimately this speaks volumes about one’s character.
My wife laid out specific instructions repeatedly as to what I had to do during the Thursday practice as my daughter had a flyer and tumbling class back to back. For the flyer class she needed these special stretch bands that were in the glove compartment of the car. Not only did I have to remember to get them out of the glove compartment, but I also had to remind my daughter to give them back to me after the practice because apparently she has a tendency herself to leave them around the gym. This should be a piece of cake.
A few days later my wife asked me if I had gotten the elastic bands back from my daughter after the practice. I immediately looked perplexed. I knew that she used them during practice as I distinctly remembered taking them out of the glove compartment of the car and my daughter and I proceeded to shoot them at each other like rubber bands. The problem though was that that was the last I saw of them. After conferring with my daughter later that day, I did in fact forget to remind her to give them to me after practice. My wife just shook her head with a smirk and nicely reminded me how many times I was told what to do. Alas, I made yet another mistake.
Image credit: http://wealwaysbelieve.blogspot.com/I make mistakes all the time and have since birth. To be honest, I have made so many mistakes during my lifetime and will continue to do so. Everyone makes them. This does not make me, or virtually anyone else on this planet, a bad person as we all succumb to this. Many mistakes we make both professionally and personally are not part of some larger agenda. Sometimes it is because we don’t listen or fully process what we heard. At other times there is a lapse of judgment or lack of understanding, context, or the entire story. Many times mistakes just happen with no rhyme or reason. This is all a part of being human. Admitting, learning from, and moving on after a mistake is made is all that matters. Some of the best learning experiences I have carried with me for years have occurred after a mistake was made. Own your mistakes, but don't let them own you!
Being human and making mistakes is not a reason to attack, berate, chastise, ignore, give up, or treat other adults or students differently. It perplexes me to this day how anyone can hold a grudge against someone who makes a mistake. Chances are that very same person has made his or her share of them. This is hypocritical to say the least. Students deserve the most slack when a mistake is made. How one reacts could very well determine their willingness to learn in the future. When it comes to adults, take the time to make the other person aware of his/her mistake and provide practical advice on how to overcome and learn from it. Most importantly, if the mistake is significant provide the needed support and be there. Ultimately this speaks volumes about one’s character.
June 5, 2016
Ideas and Tools to Give Everyone a Voice
Whether during a class, meeting, presentation, or workshop it can be at times extremely difficult to give everyone a voice. I remember as a teacher many years ago asking my students to raise their hands to respond to a question and even during Jeopardy-style review games had groups collaborate on their response. Undoubtedly this left many students out of the formative process. Later in my career, I was able to get my hands on a class set of dry erase whiteboards so that each student had a chance to respond. While this was definitely an improvement, issues still remained as to the depth of responses each student could provide as well as actively engaging the shyest students in the class. Even as I moved to a leadership position the same challenge persisted during faculty meetings. Giving everyone a voice seemed like an insurmountable challenge.
As I have transitioned to a major role as a presenter, I initially experienced the same struggles listed above. Never could I have imagined giving twenty different educators a voice during a presentation let alone thousands. Well, technology has changed all that and regardless of your specific role you too can increase authentic engagement with your audience. The best part is the variety of tools out there that are easy to use, allow for a diversity of answers, and are free (most that is). These collaborative tools can be used to:
Make thinking and learning visibleCheck for understandingReview prior learningClose lessonsProvide the means for others to pose questions Allow large masses to openly respond and interact with each otherCraft multimedia responsesCollect perception dataBackchannel a class or eventOpenly reflect and discussExtend learningBrainstorm
Image credit: https://www.turningtechnologies.com
In my opinion, the most beneficial aspects of available web-based technology are allowing anyone to improve formative assessment, feedback, and active engagement. There is really no excuse not to honor the voice of your respective audience, whether they are students or adults. Even in situations where technology might be tight, cooperative groups can be utilized to reflect and then share out. Below is a list of some of my favorite free tools (unless noted) that I integrate during my presentations along with a short description:
TodaysMeet – Create your own room to where people can respond to a question or reflect in 140 characters. This is a great tool to use for a backchannel. Tozzl – Take your backchannel to a new level! People can respond via text, videos, images, and documents. You can even integrate a Twitter hash tag. AnswerGarden – My new favorite tool! Use it for real time audience participation, online brainstorming and classroom feedback. Responses can only be 20 or 40 characters. Mentimeter – Move over Poll Everywhere. Mentimeter is a great tool that allows you to poll your audience in a variety of ways. You can even create a presentation that has multiple polls. Tackk – Collaborate, discuss, and create all on one interactive platform. Over 300 apps can be embedded making it a great platform for app smashing. Be sure to check out Tackk in the classroom. Padlet – A long time favorite of mine, which allows participants to respond using virtual Post-It notes. The beauty of this tool is that within each board responses can be text, video, images, or attached documents. Lino – An online web sticky note service that can be used to post memos, to-do lists, ideas, and photos anywhere on an online web canvas that is similar to Padlet Kahoot – A fan favorite of educators around the world. It is a free game-based learning platform that not only gives everyone a voice, but also provides a fun way to do it. ProConIt – Gather and organize opinions on any topic while engaging your audience. This is a great tool to formatively evaluate just about anything. FlipGrid (NOT free) – You need to pay a little for this one, but oh is it worth it. Create grids of questions or topics using text or video and share your questions with whomever you like. Your audience then responds with recorded videos.The ten tools listed above will allow you to empower your respective audience by giving them a voice and sometimes a choice as to how they want to respond. There are so many other tools out there that can be used in powerful ways to enhance learning and gather meaningful feedback. Let’s use the power of social media to crowd source even more examples. Please feel free to list other tools with a short description in the comments section below.
As I have transitioned to a major role as a presenter, I initially experienced the same struggles listed above. Never could I have imagined giving twenty different educators a voice during a presentation let alone thousands. Well, technology has changed all that and regardless of your specific role you too can increase authentic engagement with your audience. The best part is the variety of tools out there that are easy to use, allow for a diversity of answers, and are free (most that is). These collaborative tools can be used to:
Make thinking and learning visibleCheck for understandingReview prior learningClose lessonsProvide the means for others to pose questions Allow large masses to openly respond and interact with each otherCraft multimedia responsesCollect perception dataBackchannel a class or eventOpenly reflect and discussExtend learningBrainstorm
Image credit: https://www.turningtechnologies.comIn my opinion, the most beneficial aspects of available web-based technology are allowing anyone to improve formative assessment, feedback, and active engagement. There is really no excuse not to honor the voice of your respective audience, whether they are students or adults. Even in situations where technology might be tight, cooperative groups can be utilized to reflect and then share out. Below is a list of some of my favorite free tools (unless noted) that I integrate during my presentations along with a short description:
TodaysMeet – Create your own room to where people can respond to a question or reflect in 140 characters. This is a great tool to use for a backchannel. Tozzl – Take your backchannel to a new level! People can respond via text, videos, images, and documents. You can even integrate a Twitter hash tag. AnswerGarden – My new favorite tool! Use it for real time audience participation, online brainstorming and classroom feedback. Responses can only be 20 or 40 characters. Mentimeter – Move over Poll Everywhere. Mentimeter is a great tool that allows you to poll your audience in a variety of ways. You can even create a presentation that has multiple polls. Tackk – Collaborate, discuss, and create all on one interactive platform. Over 300 apps can be embedded making it a great platform for app smashing. Be sure to check out Tackk in the classroom. Padlet – A long time favorite of mine, which allows participants to respond using virtual Post-It notes. The beauty of this tool is that within each board responses can be text, video, images, or attached documents. Lino – An online web sticky note service that can be used to post memos, to-do lists, ideas, and photos anywhere on an online web canvas that is similar to Padlet Kahoot – A fan favorite of educators around the world. It is a free game-based learning platform that not only gives everyone a voice, but also provides a fun way to do it. ProConIt – Gather and organize opinions on any topic while engaging your audience. This is a great tool to formatively evaluate just about anything. FlipGrid (NOT free) – You need to pay a little for this one, but oh is it worth it. Create grids of questions or topics using text or video and share your questions with whomever you like. Your audience then responds with recorded videos.The ten tools listed above will allow you to empower your respective audience by giving them a voice and sometimes a choice as to how they want to respond. There are so many other tools out there that can be used in powerful ways to enhance learning and gather meaningful feedback. Let’s use the power of social media to crowd source even more examples. Please feel free to list other tools with a short description in the comments section below.
May 29, 2016
Three Sides of a Three-Sided Coin: Specialized Supports (Part 3)
This is the third guest post in a series on Response to Intervention (RTI) by Dr. Chris Weber, a Senior Fellow and Thought Leader on the topic with the International Center for Leadership in Education. Check out all the posts in the series HERE.
Differentiation, special education, and response to intervention (RTI) are interrelated and interdependent; or, they should be. In our experiences in schools, we can more successfully implement these critical, research-based initiatives. They represent principles and practices essential to meeting all students’ needs and to ensuring that students graduate future ready. Comprehensive approaches to differentiation, special education, and RTI are more necessary than ever if schools will reach the goal of high levels of learning for all students. We recommend that schools strategically and purposefully blend differentiation, special education, and RTI within Systems of Supports for Rigorous Learning that optimize the complex and critical processes under a singularly-designed set of structures. This third in a series of three posts describes early intervention (pre-referral services) within a System of Supports.
Image credit: https://hcosd.wikispaces.com
There will be students who require the most specialized supports that we can provide; students who have not yet responded to intervention and for whom special education supports may be necessary.
Strategically assess within the finite formal-evaluation time frame
There will be students who, despite are best efforts, are not yet adequately responding to tiered interventions. In these instances, we request permission to conduct a formal evaluation to determine eligibility for special education. But we intend that students will respond to special education supports such that they will no longer require them at some point in the future. We are committed to taking full advantage of the opportunity to gather vital information during the limited amount of time we have to evaluate student needs, make an eligibility determination, and if appropriate, collaboratively craft an Individualized Education Program plan. We must use all the knowledge that we have gained while scaffolding and intervening prior the formal evaluation period to ensure that this occurs.
Collaboratively craft the IEP
Again, we intend for special education to be a temporary designation for the vast majority of students who are determined to be eligible. Therefore, IEPs must be strategically written. Students must receive supports within the least restrictive environments possible – inclusive settings with all students, regardless of label. They must continue to access and gain mastery of core academic and behavioral priorities. Significant deficits in foundational skills must be ameliorated. Students must be equipped with coping mechanisms and work around strategies so that they will be successful in school, college, career, and life in the absence of special supports.
Scaffolded access to core within the least restrictive environments
As noted repeatedly above, all students must successful participate in the core. Otherwise, the risk of failing to catching up will be great and sustaining progress will be compromised. To ensure that fully inclusive environments work for all students, some form of co-planning and co-teaching must be in place.
Access to Tier 2 must continue
We can predict that some students will learn core priorities at different rates and in different ways. This may be particularly true for students with special needs. This is Tier 2: more time, alternative approaches. Ensuring that students with special needs have access to all tiers of supports will greatly increase the likelihood of their success.
Intervene in a targeted and intensive manner, in accordance with the IEP
This is critical. IEPs have specific goals and objectives based on areas of need. We must explicitly address and ameliorate these areas of needs. Time periods that serve as study halls and work completion assistance are not the answer. We must immediately and intensively focus on diagnosed deficits with targeted interventions, with the goal of eliminating these deficits. Within special education, the intensity of focus and resources that we are prepared to assign are greater than ever, as is the sense of urgency.
Behaviors
As noted above but with even more care, we teach, reteach, and reinforce key pro-social and pro-functional behaviors for students with special needs. Behavioral skills are doubly important for a student determined eligible for special education services.
Monitor
Measuring the extent to which students are responding to instruction, intervention, and in this, case special education supports, should be done more, not less, when a student has been determined eligible for special education services. There is not a moment to lose and we must make adjustments, in collaboration with the IEP team, when adequate progress is not made.
Exit when possible
Approximately 12% of students receive special education services and have an Individualized Education Program plan. Approximately 1% of students have been diagnosed with a severe or profound disability, meaning that their intellectual functioning will significantly limit their ability to live an independent adult life. They will have modified jobs and accommodated living conditions. We feel blessed to live in societies in which we provide care and support for these precious individuals. The vast majority of students receiving special education services, students who have an Individualized Education Program plan, do not have a severe or profound disability and will be expected to live an independent adult life, without modified jobs and accommodated living conditions.
When we do not expect high levels of learning for all, we significantly limit students’ future prospects with equally significant impacts on our societies. Students receiving special education services graduate from Grade 12 at rates that are demonstrably lower than their peers; they attend 4-year universities and colleges at equally lower rates. We must remove supports when students are ready, allowing students to learn and thrive within the least restrictive environments, and ensure they have access to any and every opportunity.
We fear that tragically lower expectations for students receiving special education services has led (and continues to lead) to their significantly lower achievement. Accommodations and modifications in support of successful educational experiences must not correspond with modifications to expectations. Students within Individualized Education Program plans who do not have a severe or profound disability will be expected to compete and collaborate with rest of the 99% for a purposeful and productive adult life, and we must urgently prepare for this reality.
Differentiation, special education, and RTI are not new processes and they continue to be identified as areas of need by schools and schools leaders. They should be. They are incredibly impactful and important sets of principals and practices and we have not yet done them well. We must, for once and for all, do it right. A comprehensive approach to differentiation, special education, and RTI, integrated into a System of Supports for Rigorous Learning, is possible and more necessary than ever.
Differentiation, special education, and response to intervention (RTI) are interrelated and interdependent; or, they should be. In our experiences in schools, we can more successfully implement these critical, research-based initiatives. They represent principles and practices essential to meeting all students’ needs and to ensuring that students graduate future ready. Comprehensive approaches to differentiation, special education, and RTI are more necessary than ever if schools will reach the goal of high levels of learning for all students. We recommend that schools strategically and purposefully blend differentiation, special education, and RTI within Systems of Supports for Rigorous Learning that optimize the complex and critical processes under a singularly-designed set of structures. This third in a series of three posts describes early intervention (pre-referral services) within a System of Supports.
Image credit: https://hcosd.wikispaces.comThere will be students who require the most specialized supports that we can provide; students who have not yet responded to intervention and for whom special education supports may be necessary.
Strategically assess within the finite formal-evaluation time frame
There will be students who, despite are best efforts, are not yet adequately responding to tiered interventions. In these instances, we request permission to conduct a formal evaluation to determine eligibility for special education. But we intend that students will respond to special education supports such that they will no longer require them at some point in the future. We are committed to taking full advantage of the opportunity to gather vital information during the limited amount of time we have to evaluate student needs, make an eligibility determination, and if appropriate, collaboratively craft an Individualized Education Program plan. We must use all the knowledge that we have gained while scaffolding and intervening prior the formal evaluation period to ensure that this occurs.
Collaboratively craft the IEP
Again, we intend for special education to be a temporary designation for the vast majority of students who are determined to be eligible. Therefore, IEPs must be strategically written. Students must receive supports within the least restrictive environments possible – inclusive settings with all students, regardless of label. They must continue to access and gain mastery of core academic and behavioral priorities. Significant deficits in foundational skills must be ameliorated. Students must be equipped with coping mechanisms and work around strategies so that they will be successful in school, college, career, and life in the absence of special supports.
Scaffolded access to core within the least restrictive environments
As noted repeatedly above, all students must successful participate in the core. Otherwise, the risk of failing to catching up will be great and sustaining progress will be compromised. To ensure that fully inclusive environments work for all students, some form of co-planning and co-teaching must be in place.
Access to Tier 2 must continue
We can predict that some students will learn core priorities at different rates and in different ways. This may be particularly true for students with special needs. This is Tier 2: more time, alternative approaches. Ensuring that students with special needs have access to all tiers of supports will greatly increase the likelihood of their success.
Intervene in a targeted and intensive manner, in accordance with the IEP
This is critical. IEPs have specific goals and objectives based on areas of need. We must explicitly address and ameliorate these areas of needs. Time periods that serve as study halls and work completion assistance are not the answer. We must immediately and intensively focus on diagnosed deficits with targeted interventions, with the goal of eliminating these deficits. Within special education, the intensity of focus and resources that we are prepared to assign are greater than ever, as is the sense of urgency.
Behaviors
As noted above but with even more care, we teach, reteach, and reinforce key pro-social and pro-functional behaviors for students with special needs. Behavioral skills are doubly important for a student determined eligible for special education services.
Monitor
Measuring the extent to which students are responding to instruction, intervention, and in this, case special education supports, should be done more, not less, when a student has been determined eligible for special education services. There is not a moment to lose and we must make adjustments, in collaboration with the IEP team, when adequate progress is not made.
Exit when possible
Approximately 12% of students receive special education services and have an Individualized Education Program plan. Approximately 1% of students have been diagnosed with a severe or profound disability, meaning that their intellectual functioning will significantly limit their ability to live an independent adult life. They will have modified jobs and accommodated living conditions. We feel blessed to live in societies in which we provide care and support for these precious individuals. The vast majority of students receiving special education services, students who have an Individualized Education Program plan, do not have a severe or profound disability and will be expected to live an independent adult life, without modified jobs and accommodated living conditions.
When we do not expect high levels of learning for all, we significantly limit students’ future prospects with equally significant impacts on our societies. Students receiving special education services graduate from Grade 12 at rates that are demonstrably lower than their peers; they attend 4-year universities and colleges at equally lower rates. We must remove supports when students are ready, allowing students to learn and thrive within the least restrictive environments, and ensure they have access to any and every opportunity.
We fear that tragically lower expectations for students receiving special education services has led (and continues to lead) to their significantly lower achievement. Accommodations and modifications in support of successful educational experiences must not correspond with modifications to expectations. Students within Individualized Education Program plans who do not have a severe or profound disability will be expected to compete and collaborate with rest of the 99% for a purposeful and productive adult life, and we must urgently prepare for this reality.
Differentiation, special education, and RTI are not new processes and they continue to be identified as areas of need by schools and schools leaders. They should be. They are incredibly impactful and important sets of principals and practices and we have not yet done them well. We must, for once and for all, do it right. A comprehensive approach to differentiation, special education, and RTI, integrated into a System of Supports for Rigorous Learning, is possible and more necessary than ever.
May 22, 2016
The Case for Case Studies: Success Stories for Continued Growth
Case studies provide a glimpse into how vision, strategic planning, and implementation drive results-oriented change. In education, they connect people to stories of how schools and districts have improved school culture and the specific steps that were taken. These detailed stories have the ability to provide great context through an explanation of the following:
GoalsChallengesSolutionSuccess
Overall, a case study provides readers with details on how problems were solved, outcomes achieved, and how investments in professional learning led to a positive cultural shift. In a time when so many schools and districts are looking to technology as a means to improve student learning, case studies have become an essential tool to illustrate the benefits to stakeholders.
Image credit: https://www.dynbiz.com/wp-content/upl...
No two schools or districts take on the same initiative in the same way. Every school and district, just like every student, teacher, and administrator, learns and grows uniquely. Tailoring professional learning so that it is accurately identifying a school's or district’s essential DNA and applying its understanding to meeting the particular needs for growth and change was achieved in two very different schools/districts in California.
Shifting to a Culture of Student-Centered Learning Through Technology Integration
La Quinta High School, in La Quinta, California, aspired to a digital integration that would ultimately transform its learning culture into a more collaborative and student-centered one. As a result of a deep and sustained vision, the school culture is fast becoming one of confidence, engagement, and interaction. Access the case study HERE.
Empowering Teachers and Students Through Effective Use of Technology
In Coalinga-Huron Unified School District in Coalinga, California, a digital initiative was also put in place, in this case, system-wide. Among the needs that the district had were a multi-year plan, a vision that understood the nature of its teachers who needed confidence in integrating technology, and help in establishing an understanding of what a high quality technology integration meant. The district has become empowered with technology to the extent that they have been recognized as being a national leader for its work with blended learning. Access the case study HERE.
Case studies in education are a valuable tool for change. They tell a story, demonstrate success, and provide insight that can empower other schools and districts to embrace a framework for change. The combination of what, why and how aligned to results can be a springboard to focus on how to better implement technology at scale to improve student learning.
GoalsChallengesSolutionSuccess
Overall, a case study provides readers with details on how problems were solved, outcomes achieved, and how investments in professional learning led to a positive cultural shift. In a time when so many schools and districts are looking to technology as a means to improve student learning, case studies have become an essential tool to illustrate the benefits to stakeholders.
Image credit: https://www.dynbiz.com/wp-content/upl...No two schools or districts take on the same initiative in the same way. Every school and district, just like every student, teacher, and administrator, learns and grows uniquely. Tailoring professional learning so that it is accurately identifying a school's or district’s essential DNA and applying its understanding to meeting the particular needs for growth and change was achieved in two very different schools/districts in California.
Shifting to a Culture of Student-Centered Learning Through Technology Integration
La Quinta High School, in La Quinta, California, aspired to a digital integration that would ultimately transform its learning culture into a more collaborative and student-centered one. As a result of a deep and sustained vision, the school culture is fast becoming one of confidence, engagement, and interaction. Access the case study HERE.
Empowering Teachers and Students Through Effective Use of Technology
In Coalinga-Huron Unified School District in Coalinga, California, a digital initiative was also put in place, in this case, system-wide. Among the needs that the district had were a multi-year plan, a vision that understood the nature of its teachers who needed confidence in integrating technology, and help in establishing an understanding of what a high quality technology integration meant. The district has become empowered with technology to the extent that they have been recognized as being a national leader for its work with blended learning. Access the case study HERE.
Case studies in education are a valuable tool for change. They tell a story, demonstrate success, and provide insight that can empower other schools and districts to embrace a framework for change. The combination of what, why and how aligned to results can be a springboard to focus on how to better implement technology at scale to improve student learning.
May 15, 2016
Three Sides of a Three-Sided Coin: Early Intervention (Part 2)
This is the second guest post in a series on Response to Intervention (RTI) by Dr. Chris Weber, a Senior Fellow and Thought Leader on the topic with the International Center for Leadership in Education. Check out the first post in the series HERE on differentiation.
A Comprehensive Approach to Early Intervention within an RTI-Inspired System of Supports for Rigorous Learning, prior to a Referral for Special Education Assessment
Differentiation, special education, and response to intervention (RTI) are interrelated and interdependent; or, they should be. In our experiences in schools, we can more successfully implement these critical, research-based initiatives. They represent principles and practices essential to meeting all students’ needs and to ensuring that students graduate future ready. Comprehensive approaches to differentiation, special education, and RTI are more necessary than ever if schools will reach the goal of high levels of learning for all students.
Image credit: http://images.pearsonclinical.com/
We recommend that schools strategically and purposefully blend differentiation, special education, and RTI within Systems of Supports for Rigorous Learning that optimize the complex and critical processes under a singularly-designed set of structures. This second in a series of three posts describes early intervention (pre-referral services) within a System of Supports.
Supports for students with special needs begin immediately. We cannot allow for failure and frustration to occur. Well before a request to conduct a formal evaluation or a determination of eligibility, we must:
Screen
The purpose of a screening process is to efficiently, and in a timely manner, identify students who at a grave risk of experiencing failure and frustration so that:
Scaffolded supports can be immediately provided within Tier 1Intensive and targeted supports can be provided within Tier 3. This applies to all students, including students with special needs. We must not assume we know that needs within a domain or the antecedents to difficulties are known, and we must not assume that supports are already in place. We screen to ensure that we can proactively serve students who likely have a significant deficit in a foundational skill.
Scaffold
Students should not fail a class because of a deficit in a foundational skill. Students in an Algebra class who lack fluency with computation must receive intensive, highly specialized support to ameliorate this significant deficit; they should not, however, fail Algebra. Teachers can and must scaffold instruction so that these students can still access and master algebraic concepts. We maintain that all students can think critically and problem solve. They’re “smart.”
Similarly, students who cannot decode text at a grade nine level must receive intensive, highly specialized support to ameliorate this significant deficit; however, they should not fail the grade nine English class. Teachers can and must scaffold instruction so that these students can still access and master the comprehension-based concepts that are the likely the priories of the course. A significant deficit in a specific skill area must not limit a student’s ability to access core learning. We must differentiate to ensure success in the core and provide intensive, highly-specialized supports that address the significant need.
Behaviors
We find that students who have experienced frustration and failure in schools, who have not been supported in a timely and focused manner within a system of supports, often lack a growth mindset and have internalized a sense of learned helplessness. Therefore, nurturing the development of behavioral skills – such as self-regulation and executive functioning – while important for all students, is absolutely critical for vulnerable students. This process requires that we:
Identify the priorities that all students will master.Clearly define what mastery “looks” and “sounds” like.Explicitly teach, model the habits and skills that we want to see and hear displayed and employed, with differentiated supports prepared.Assess student mastery of prioritized behavioral habits and skills so that we can determine the efficacy of our instruction and identify the areas of need for intervention.Provide feedback regarding students’ success and setbacks as they relate to achieving mastery.Intervene in a targeted manner if necessary.Intervene
We commit to supporting vulnerable students’ most immediate area of need proactively, immediately, and with intensity. We strive to target the antecedent or causal factors that are most contributing to difficulties and vulnerabilities and that lead to significant deficits in foundational skills. All students will learn at high levels, but when a significant deficit in a foundational skill is present, frustrations and challenges highly compromise learning. While the significant deficit exists, or until we have identified and empowered the student to employ sustainable coping mechanisms, the student’s chances of success in school, career, and life are significantly at risk. The most critical, customized, highly specific support for a vulnerable student will undoubtedly involve addressing foundational skills. Without these foundational skills, meaningful experiences with, and mastery of, the 4 Cs and other 21st century skills will be compromised. We define foundational skills as:
Literacy – If students cannot access content and participate in learning opportunities (the majority of which are presented in textual form), they will perpetually experience significant difficulties in any course. If students struggle to demonstrate their understanding of content and mastery of skills (the majority of these demonstrations will require written expression), they will perpetually experience significant difficulties in any course.Numeracy – Skills associated with pre-computational numeracy impact a student’s ability to succeed in all subject areas, not only mathematics. A “sense of number” impacts a student’s ability to identity and interpret part-whole relationships, to sequence, to understand and interpret timelines and graphs, in addition to more obvious connections to mathematics and the sciences.Behaviors – Respect, responsibility, and safety are completely appropriate behavioral goals to establish for students; and, there are many other critical pro-social and pro-functional skills that are foundational to success. When a student has a significant deficit in behavior due to social, emotional, or cognitive factors that result in a severely angry, withdrawn, inattentive child or young adult with few coping mechanisms, self-regulatory strategies, or executive functioning skills, little learning will take place. More immediately, students with significant deficits in behavioral skills are truly at-risk in their right to be a healthy human.Monitor
We must monitor student response to instruction and intervention and learn from the evidence that is gathered: As we scaffold to ensure student access to learning at Tier 1 and provide specific interventions that target immediate areas of need within Tier 3, we learn about what works and what does not work. Moreover, we view progress monitoring as a logical task with which to meaningfully involve students. Progress-monitoring assessments measure the extent to which students are responding to supplemental interventions. Progress monitoring is feedback:
Feedback for educators: How well have we matched the support to the diagnosed need?Feedback for students: How much growth am I making? Where are my strengths and where do I still have needs? What are my next goals? What can I do? What support do I need?Repeat
If we find that students are not responding to the interventions that we are providing, we suggest that we do not simply seek a new intervention; we may need to better identify the causes of student difficulties and better match a support to the diagnosed antecedent skill. This process may be iterative and we may not be right the first time. But we never give up. In fact, we expect that we will learn quite a bit about the underlying causes of student difficulties through the very act of prescribing and providing an intervention.
In the third post in the series, I will describe the effective and necessary elements of Special Education within a System of Supports.
A Comprehensive Approach to Early Intervention within an RTI-Inspired System of Supports for Rigorous Learning, prior to a Referral for Special Education Assessment
Differentiation, special education, and response to intervention (RTI) are interrelated and interdependent; or, they should be. In our experiences in schools, we can more successfully implement these critical, research-based initiatives. They represent principles and practices essential to meeting all students’ needs and to ensuring that students graduate future ready. Comprehensive approaches to differentiation, special education, and RTI are more necessary than ever if schools will reach the goal of high levels of learning for all students.
Image credit: http://images.pearsonclinical.com/We recommend that schools strategically and purposefully blend differentiation, special education, and RTI within Systems of Supports for Rigorous Learning that optimize the complex and critical processes under a singularly-designed set of structures. This second in a series of three posts describes early intervention (pre-referral services) within a System of Supports.
Supports for students with special needs begin immediately. We cannot allow for failure and frustration to occur. Well before a request to conduct a formal evaluation or a determination of eligibility, we must:
Screen
The purpose of a screening process is to efficiently, and in a timely manner, identify students who at a grave risk of experiencing failure and frustration so that:
Scaffolded supports can be immediately provided within Tier 1Intensive and targeted supports can be provided within Tier 3. This applies to all students, including students with special needs. We must not assume we know that needs within a domain or the antecedents to difficulties are known, and we must not assume that supports are already in place. We screen to ensure that we can proactively serve students who likely have a significant deficit in a foundational skill.
Scaffold
Students should not fail a class because of a deficit in a foundational skill. Students in an Algebra class who lack fluency with computation must receive intensive, highly specialized support to ameliorate this significant deficit; they should not, however, fail Algebra. Teachers can and must scaffold instruction so that these students can still access and master algebraic concepts. We maintain that all students can think critically and problem solve. They’re “smart.”
Similarly, students who cannot decode text at a grade nine level must receive intensive, highly specialized support to ameliorate this significant deficit; however, they should not fail the grade nine English class. Teachers can and must scaffold instruction so that these students can still access and master the comprehension-based concepts that are the likely the priories of the course. A significant deficit in a specific skill area must not limit a student’s ability to access core learning. We must differentiate to ensure success in the core and provide intensive, highly-specialized supports that address the significant need.
Behaviors
We find that students who have experienced frustration and failure in schools, who have not been supported in a timely and focused manner within a system of supports, often lack a growth mindset and have internalized a sense of learned helplessness. Therefore, nurturing the development of behavioral skills – such as self-regulation and executive functioning – while important for all students, is absolutely critical for vulnerable students. This process requires that we:
Identify the priorities that all students will master.Clearly define what mastery “looks” and “sounds” like.Explicitly teach, model the habits and skills that we want to see and hear displayed and employed, with differentiated supports prepared.Assess student mastery of prioritized behavioral habits and skills so that we can determine the efficacy of our instruction and identify the areas of need for intervention.Provide feedback regarding students’ success and setbacks as they relate to achieving mastery.Intervene in a targeted manner if necessary.Intervene
We commit to supporting vulnerable students’ most immediate area of need proactively, immediately, and with intensity. We strive to target the antecedent or causal factors that are most contributing to difficulties and vulnerabilities and that lead to significant deficits in foundational skills. All students will learn at high levels, but when a significant deficit in a foundational skill is present, frustrations and challenges highly compromise learning. While the significant deficit exists, or until we have identified and empowered the student to employ sustainable coping mechanisms, the student’s chances of success in school, career, and life are significantly at risk. The most critical, customized, highly specific support for a vulnerable student will undoubtedly involve addressing foundational skills. Without these foundational skills, meaningful experiences with, and mastery of, the 4 Cs and other 21st century skills will be compromised. We define foundational skills as:
Literacy – If students cannot access content and participate in learning opportunities (the majority of which are presented in textual form), they will perpetually experience significant difficulties in any course. If students struggle to demonstrate their understanding of content and mastery of skills (the majority of these demonstrations will require written expression), they will perpetually experience significant difficulties in any course.Numeracy – Skills associated with pre-computational numeracy impact a student’s ability to succeed in all subject areas, not only mathematics. A “sense of number” impacts a student’s ability to identity and interpret part-whole relationships, to sequence, to understand and interpret timelines and graphs, in addition to more obvious connections to mathematics and the sciences.Behaviors – Respect, responsibility, and safety are completely appropriate behavioral goals to establish for students; and, there are many other critical pro-social and pro-functional skills that are foundational to success. When a student has a significant deficit in behavior due to social, emotional, or cognitive factors that result in a severely angry, withdrawn, inattentive child or young adult with few coping mechanisms, self-regulatory strategies, or executive functioning skills, little learning will take place. More immediately, students with significant deficits in behavioral skills are truly at-risk in their right to be a healthy human.Monitor
We must monitor student response to instruction and intervention and learn from the evidence that is gathered: As we scaffold to ensure student access to learning at Tier 1 and provide specific interventions that target immediate areas of need within Tier 3, we learn about what works and what does not work. Moreover, we view progress monitoring as a logical task with which to meaningfully involve students. Progress-monitoring assessments measure the extent to which students are responding to supplemental interventions. Progress monitoring is feedback:
Feedback for educators: How well have we matched the support to the diagnosed need?Feedback for students: How much growth am I making? Where are my strengths and where do I still have needs? What are my next goals? What can I do? What support do I need?Repeat
If we find that students are not responding to the interventions that we are providing, we suggest that we do not simply seek a new intervention; we may need to better identify the causes of student difficulties and better match a support to the diagnosed antecedent skill. This process may be iterative and we may not be right the first time. But we never give up. In fact, we expect that we will learn quite a bit about the underlying causes of student difficulties through the very act of prescribing and providing an intervention.
In the third post in the series, I will describe the effective and necessary elements of Special Education within a System of Supports.
May 8, 2016
A Paradigm Shift
The world continues to change as a result of technological advances. Just a few years ago it would have been near impossible to predict some of the paradigm shifts we have experienced. It all began around 2003 when the smartphone wars started with Blackberry, but was quickly taken over by the Apple iPhone in 2007. At this point change began to happen at a rapid pace. Disruptive innovations, such as Uber and Netflix, have begun to dramatically alter consumer behaviors, in many cases for the better. Make no mistake about it; technology is shaping the world in ways that we could never have imagined. The types of disruption we are seeing are improving effectiveness, efficiency, and results. It's a dog eat dog world in the digital age. Either adapt and evolve or become obsolete and extinct. The dying taxi industry and Blockbuster provide stark reminders of this fact.
Image credit: http://quantumleapalchemy.com/
With all the change the world is now experiencing it is quite dumbfounding, to say the least, as to why schools and education remain static when it comes to change. All one has to do is walk into a school and for the most part they will see the same structure and function that has dominated for the past 100 years. The pressure to conform to a world that solely equates school success to standardized metrics is, for all intents and purposes, the reason why we are not seeing disruptive innovation at scale. However, if schools and leaders do not take cues from history it is only a matter of time before they suffer the same fate of obsolescence. The domino effect here could be catastrophic to our economy and the world, as we know it.
Maybe evolution is not the right approach for education, but rather a concerted focus on paradigm shifts to professional practice. As Thomas Kuhn (1970) argues, scientific advancement is not evolutionary, but rather is a "series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions", and in those revolutions "one conceptual world view is replaced by another". Thus a paradigm shift constitutes a change from one way of thinking to another to spur a revolution that transforms learning and professional practice. This sounds great in theory, but it won’t just happen. For a paradigm shift to occur and be sustained it must be driven by change agents who are willing to disrupt the status quo embedded in the global education system.
Paradigm shifts need to be driven by change agents in classrooms, schools, districts, and other educational organizations across the globe. In a world where technology is becoming more and more embedded by the minute, it is incumbent upon leaders, regardless of position, to replace the conceptual view of school with a more meaningful one. This is where the concept of digital leadership really comes into play. By carefully analyzing current components of professional practice, educators can begin to make the necessary paradigm shifts to replace existing practices with more effective and relevant ones. The following are some specific paradigm shifts in relation to the Pillars of Digital Leadership:
Student Engagement, Learning, and Achievement
We can ill afford to teach and lead in the same ways we were taught and led. It is important to sift through the fluffy ideas that abound as well as the allure of the tools and begin to integrate technology with purpose when appropriate. Success is contingent upon sound instructional design, quality assessments, and an improved feedback loop. To validate this paradigm shift, the concept inherent in this pillar should be aligned to actual results that exhibit improvement not just in terms of engagement and learning, but also achievement as evidenced by a Return on Instruction (ROI). When implemented correctly, digital tools can transform education.
Learning Spaces and Environments
Desks in rows, LCD projectors used as glorified overhead projectors, uncomfortable furniture, poor lighting, and inflexible arrangements have to go. To prepare our learners to think and solve problems in the real world and beyond, they need to learn in spaces and environments that most emulate this reality. Research has shown that redesign can impact student learning (Barrett et al., 2013). More importantly, it can empower our learners.
Professional Growth
Traditional forms of professional development such as “sit and get”, one-size-fits-all, a few isolated days in the school calendar, and trainings lacking accountability are all a waste of time and money. Technology now allows for professional learning to take place anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. Combining improved professional learning experiences with the power of a Personal Learning Network (PLN) sets the stage for meaningful improvement that can be transformational.
Communications
Schools still rely on traditional means (email, newsletters, phone calls). The shift here is to begin to meet stakeholders where they are at and engage them in two-way communications. This blended approach will result in more transparency, exposure, and message amplification.
Public Relations
If you don't tell your story someone else will. Do you really want to roll the dice and take a chance with this? Everyone has access to the same free video, picture, and text tools to become the storyteller-in-chief. There is such power in stories that focus on student successes and staff accomplishments. No longer does any educator have to rely on the media alone to share the daily awesomeness that occurs in classrooms and schools.
Branding
Here is a simple equation: Communications + Public Relations = Branding. This is not a business-minded concept focused on selling, but instead telling stories and consistently sharing a positive narrative about education. The focus on telling and sharing work in concert with one another to build powerful relationships with all stakeholders. This results in greater support and appreciation for the whole child approach that many schools are focused on.
Opportunity
As the saying goes, if opportunity doesn’t knock then build a door. The digital world allows us to open doors like never before. The paradigm shift here will naturally result with a sustained focus on the other six pillars.
A paradigm shift in learning, teaching, and leadership is needed to improve our education system. Opinions, talk, and ideas alone will not do the trick, especially those not connected to research and evidence. Let’s raise the bar for schools and ourselves so that a scalable paradigm shift occurs and holistic improvement becomes the norm, not an exception.
Barrett, P., Zhang, Y., Moffat,J., & Kobbacy, K. (2013). A holistic, multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils' learning. Building and Environment, 59, 678-689
Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Image credit: http://quantumleapalchemy.com/With all the change the world is now experiencing it is quite dumbfounding, to say the least, as to why schools and education remain static when it comes to change. All one has to do is walk into a school and for the most part they will see the same structure and function that has dominated for the past 100 years. The pressure to conform to a world that solely equates school success to standardized metrics is, for all intents and purposes, the reason why we are not seeing disruptive innovation at scale. However, if schools and leaders do not take cues from history it is only a matter of time before they suffer the same fate of obsolescence. The domino effect here could be catastrophic to our economy and the world, as we know it.
Maybe evolution is not the right approach for education, but rather a concerted focus on paradigm shifts to professional practice. As Thomas Kuhn (1970) argues, scientific advancement is not evolutionary, but rather is a "series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions", and in those revolutions "one conceptual world view is replaced by another". Thus a paradigm shift constitutes a change from one way of thinking to another to spur a revolution that transforms learning and professional practice. This sounds great in theory, but it won’t just happen. For a paradigm shift to occur and be sustained it must be driven by change agents who are willing to disrupt the status quo embedded in the global education system.
Paradigm shifts need to be driven by change agents in classrooms, schools, districts, and other educational organizations across the globe. In a world where technology is becoming more and more embedded by the minute, it is incumbent upon leaders, regardless of position, to replace the conceptual view of school with a more meaningful one. This is where the concept of digital leadership really comes into play. By carefully analyzing current components of professional practice, educators can begin to make the necessary paradigm shifts to replace existing practices with more effective and relevant ones. The following are some specific paradigm shifts in relation to the Pillars of Digital Leadership:
Student Engagement, Learning, and Achievement
We can ill afford to teach and lead in the same ways we were taught and led. It is important to sift through the fluffy ideas that abound as well as the allure of the tools and begin to integrate technology with purpose when appropriate. Success is contingent upon sound instructional design, quality assessments, and an improved feedback loop. To validate this paradigm shift, the concept inherent in this pillar should be aligned to actual results that exhibit improvement not just in terms of engagement and learning, but also achievement as evidenced by a Return on Instruction (ROI). When implemented correctly, digital tools can transform education.
Learning Spaces and Environments
Desks in rows, LCD projectors used as glorified overhead projectors, uncomfortable furniture, poor lighting, and inflexible arrangements have to go. To prepare our learners to think and solve problems in the real world and beyond, they need to learn in spaces and environments that most emulate this reality. Research has shown that redesign can impact student learning (Barrett et al., 2013). More importantly, it can empower our learners.
Professional Growth
Traditional forms of professional development such as “sit and get”, one-size-fits-all, a few isolated days in the school calendar, and trainings lacking accountability are all a waste of time and money. Technology now allows for professional learning to take place anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. Combining improved professional learning experiences with the power of a Personal Learning Network (PLN) sets the stage for meaningful improvement that can be transformational.
Communications
Schools still rely on traditional means (email, newsletters, phone calls). The shift here is to begin to meet stakeholders where they are at and engage them in two-way communications. This blended approach will result in more transparency, exposure, and message amplification.
Public Relations
If you don't tell your story someone else will. Do you really want to roll the dice and take a chance with this? Everyone has access to the same free video, picture, and text tools to become the storyteller-in-chief. There is such power in stories that focus on student successes and staff accomplishments. No longer does any educator have to rely on the media alone to share the daily awesomeness that occurs in classrooms and schools.
Branding
Here is a simple equation: Communications + Public Relations = Branding. This is not a business-minded concept focused on selling, but instead telling stories and consistently sharing a positive narrative about education. The focus on telling and sharing work in concert with one another to build powerful relationships with all stakeholders. This results in greater support and appreciation for the whole child approach that many schools are focused on.
Opportunity
As the saying goes, if opportunity doesn’t knock then build a door. The digital world allows us to open doors like never before. The paradigm shift here will naturally result with a sustained focus on the other six pillars.
A paradigm shift in learning, teaching, and leadership is needed to improve our education system. Opinions, talk, and ideas alone will not do the trick, especially those not connected to research and evidence. Let’s raise the bar for schools and ourselves so that a scalable paradigm shift occurs and holistic improvement becomes the norm, not an exception.
Barrett, P., Zhang, Y., Moffat,J., & Kobbacy, K. (2013). A holistic, multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils' learning. Building and Environment, 59, 678-689
Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
May 1, 2016
Three Sides of a Three-Sided Coin: Differentiation (Part 1)
This is the first guest post in a series on Response to Intervention (RTI) by Dr. Chris Weber, a Senior Fellow and Thought Leader on the topic with the International Center for Leadership in Education.
Differentiation, special education, and response to intervention (RTI) are interrelated and interdependent; or, they should be. In my opinion and experiences schools can more successfully implement these critical, research-based initiatives. They represent principles and practices essential to meeting all students’ needs and to ensuring that students graduate future ready. Comprehensive approaches to differentiation, special education, and RTI are more necessary than ever if schools will reach the goal of high levels of learning for all students.
Image credit: http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/
Schools should strategically and purposefully blend differentiation, special education, and RTI within Systems of Supports for rigorous learning that optimize the complex and critical processes under a singularly-designed set of structures. This first in a series of three posts describes how schools and educators must leverage differentiation within a System of Supports:
A Comprehensive Approach to Differentiation within an RTI-Inspired System of Supports for Rigorous Learning
Effective core supports are built on providing students what they need; educators call this differentiation. Our increased successes in differentiating teaching and learning directly improve student engagement and motivation.
What follows are the elements of differentiated supports for each and every student:
Survey students to learn about their interests, passions, and drives; incorporate this information in small and large ways throughout the school year.Screen to ensure we have identified students at high-risk of experiencing failure in the absence of a scaffolded set of Core Supports and immediate, intensive, and targeted Specialized Supports. These students will need the very best in terms of scaffolded and differentiated supports to achieve successes within the core.Build relationships with students early and often, so that the learning environment is positive and productive and so that a growth mindset prevails.In order to ensure that these differentiated supports are in place it is important to plan for:
What – specifically and fundamentally – students will learn.A prioritized scope of sequence of concepts and skills, based on state and local priorities and student needs.How students will access information and content?How to differentiate during whole group instruction?How to differentiate during small group instruction?How students will interact with the content? With whom students will learn?Tasks that provide students with choice and opportunities to exercise agency.When students will learn with an emphasis on:Where students will learn?How students will show us what they know and what they can do?The materials we will need to provide differentiated supports.Pedagogies that that will scaffold students to success, such as those based on a gradual release of responsibility model. This does not mean teacher-only lecture, but a sound lesson design that includes rich student discourse and interaction supported by a teacher’s metacognitive modeling. There is a reason that direct instruction has twice the effect size of inquiry-based approaches (although we are huge fans of inquiry too…the genius of AND)Questioning techniques that meet students at the leading edge of their zones of proximal development and engage them in productive struggle. Practices and strategies based on interests, modalities, styles – not because any are superior or because students necessarily posses a predisposition to learn best from one more than another, but because multiple approaches contribute to a greater likelihood that learning will occur; because interacting with concepts from multiple perspectives and directions strengthens understanding. Assessments that ensure that we can accurately measure what students know in relation to the very first element for what is planned: “What – specifically and fundamentally – students will learn.”Whether differentiation serves as the umbrella under which RTI and Collaborative Systems of Support work, or Collaborative Systems of Support and RTI assist schools in organizing and systematizing differentiated practices is unimportant. Both sets of principles must be present.
In the second post in the series I will describe the elements of early intervention (pre-referral services) within a System of Supports.
Differentiation, special education, and response to intervention (RTI) are interrelated and interdependent; or, they should be. In my opinion and experiences schools can more successfully implement these critical, research-based initiatives. They represent principles and practices essential to meeting all students’ needs and to ensuring that students graduate future ready. Comprehensive approaches to differentiation, special education, and RTI are more necessary than ever if schools will reach the goal of high levels of learning for all students.
Image credit: http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/Schools should strategically and purposefully blend differentiation, special education, and RTI within Systems of Supports for rigorous learning that optimize the complex and critical processes under a singularly-designed set of structures. This first in a series of three posts describes how schools and educators must leverage differentiation within a System of Supports:
A Comprehensive Approach to Differentiation within an RTI-Inspired System of Supports for Rigorous Learning
Effective core supports are built on providing students what they need; educators call this differentiation. Our increased successes in differentiating teaching and learning directly improve student engagement and motivation.
What follows are the elements of differentiated supports for each and every student:
Survey students to learn about their interests, passions, and drives; incorporate this information in small and large ways throughout the school year.Screen to ensure we have identified students at high-risk of experiencing failure in the absence of a scaffolded set of Core Supports and immediate, intensive, and targeted Specialized Supports. These students will need the very best in terms of scaffolded and differentiated supports to achieve successes within the core.Build relationships with students early and often, so that the learning environment is positive and productive and so that a growth mindset prevails.In order to ensure that these differentiated supports are in place it is important to plan for:
What – specifically and fundamentally – students will learn.A prioritized scope of sequence of concepts and skills, based on state and local priorities and student needs.How students will access information and content?How to differentiate during whole group instruction?How to differentiate during small group instruction?How students will interact with the content? With whom students will learn?Tasks that provide students with choice and opportunities to exercise agency.When students will learn with an emphasis on:Where students will learn?How students will show us what they know and what they can do?The materials we will need to provide differentiated supports.Pedagogies that that will scaffold students to success, such as those based on a gradual release of responsibility model. This does not mean teacher-only lecture, but a sound lesson design that includes rich student discourse and interaction supported by a teacher’s metacognitive modeling. There is a reason that direct instruction has twice the effect size of inquiry-based approaches (although we are huge fans of inquiry too…the genius of AND)Questioning techniques that meet students at the leading edge of their zones of proximal development and engage them in productive struggle. Practices and strategies based on interests, modalities, styles – not because any are superior or because students necessarily posses a predisposition to learn best from one more than another, but because multiple approaches contribute to a greater likelihood that learning will occur; because interacting with concepts from multiple perspectives and directions strengthens understanding. Assessments that ensure that we can accurately measure what students know in relation to the very first element for what is planned: “What – specifically and fundamentally – students will learn.”Whether differentiation serves as the umbrella under which RTI and Collaborative Systems of Support work, or Collaborative Systems of Support and RTI assist schools in organizing and systematizing differentiated practices is unimportant. Both sets of principles must be present.
In the second post in the series I will describe the elements of early intervention (pre-referral services) within a System of Supports.
