UCDS Spark Magazine #12, Winter 2013

ISSUE 12 - WINTER, 2013

Authentic Assessment

Visit us online at www.ucds.org/spark for curriculum resources and information about our Math and Science Workshops for educators.

Sticky Curriculum

Spark is published by University Child Development School.

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The Reflective Thinking Profile: Assessing Student Learning Beyond the Core Academic Subjects

Head of School Paula Smith Assistant Head of School Teacher Education Center Director Melissa Chittenden

Creative Fusion 10

Publication Design Jack Forman

What Works 14

Contributing Writers Alyssa Barr, Susan Foley, Meg Herland, Melissa Holbert, Julie Kalmus, Gretchen Morse, Jennifer Vary

Authentic Assessment

People Who Inspire Us 18 Correct Forward: An Interview with Larry Rosenstock

Contributing Editors Diane Chickadel, Melissa Chittenden, Jack Forman, Betty Greene, Stephen Harrison, Julie Kalmus, Kerri McGill, Shanthi Raghu, Abby Sandberg, Paula Smith, Natasha Rodgers

In Each Issue 1

Greetings from Paula

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Spark Plugs

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The Reflective Thinking Profile is designed to show how a student approaches learning and furthers understanding. It is a visual representation of an individual's thinking process, problem-solving preferences and areas of strength and confidence.

This profile differs from the Math, Reading and Writing Continua in that students do not follow a sequence of ages and developmental stages.

Changes within each year and over the course of a student's UCDS career reflect periods of equilibrium and disequilibrium. The profile is a “snapshot in time” of how a student operates within the curriculum, both academically and intra-/inter-personally.

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Photography Stephen Harrison, UCDS Faculty and Staff For submission information, please contact Shanthi Raghu at shanthir@ucds.org.

The editor reserves the right to edit and select all materials.

Thinking About Thinking

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BY TEACHERS FOR TEACHERS™

In this Issue

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Question: How long does it take a fourth grade student to learn long division?

For the past century our schools have been organized as if we have a definitive answer to this question.

The model has looked something like this

This factory paradigm is built on several key assumptions

that feel very scientific… that if we standardize inputs to the classroom and measure results, we can assure quality, that “experts” outside the school, rather than teachers, are best equipped to make the major decisions about curriculum and instruction, and that the goal is to acquire content knowledge that can be measured on a standardized test.

Over the past decade, our public schools have doubled down in attempt to get this system exactly right. School districts in the US now spend 1.7 billion dollars annually on standardized tests and test preparation.1 And in spite of efforts to change class size, to standardize curriculum, and to dictate specific instructional strategies, test scores have not changed much over this period. This is true even in districts that have narrowed the curriculum in order to spend more time on math and the other “basic skills.”2 Our factory model school system has not only failed to increase test scores. While our schools in the US have worked to implement wave after wave of top down reform, there has been a technology revolution in the world outside the classroom. With unprecedented access to everyone and everything, the pace of innovation in every professional field has become exponential, so much so, that the top ten jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004. Today our students have access to information that was a once only available to their teachers, can join or build a community that includes members from anywhere on the planet, and can share their work with a global audience. Clearly our schools will need to retool in order to stay relevant in this rich learning environment and to prepare students for a world where they are constantly learning. The skills that our students need look something like this

# of students set by district Students in age group batches Teachers and Students work in isolation.

Textbook companies create curriculum, set timetable for delivery

Teachers are trained to cover every lesson in 10 months

Learning to think, create, and communicate effectively with different audiences is beyond the scope of the factory model school. If our fourth grade students are going to thrive in 2030, we need an organizational structure for our schools that is based on a new set of assumptions about how and what children learn and about the way we use assessment to drive quality. I believe that the Common Core Standards adopted by 45 states over the past several years provide us with an opportunity to begin to re-organize our schools around a new paradigm. Classrooms organized to insure that students master the skills and concepts laid out in these national benchmarks can look a great deal different than a classroom based on the standardized instruction and seat-time metrics of the factory model.

Rather than deciding in advance how long it will take a fourth grade student to learn long division, standards based classrooms can be organized to ensure that each student reaches mastery. Learning, rather than teaching, becomes the driver of curriculum and instruction, and these decisions are made inside the school. In this mastery model, teachers use assessments not only to track a student’s progress, but also to inform instruction.

Continued >

21st Century Skills Oral Communication Following others’ thinking Engage in generative discussions Respond to new ideas and circumstances Lead by Influence Innovate Curiousity Think Analyze Initiate ideas Weigh Evidence Problem Solve Critical Thinking Communicate Effectively Explain thinking Write Well Imagination Creativity Risk-taking Initiative Persistence Selfdirection Reflection Character Cross-cultural competency Judgment Flexibility Adaptability Think Analyze Initiate ideas Weigh Evidence Problem Solve Critical Thinking Communicate Effectively Explain thinking Write Well

Test Knowledge to measure outcome

(1) Chingos, Matthew M., (2012) Strength in Numbers, State spending on K-12 Assessment Systems, Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings (2) Ravitch, Diane, (2010) The Death and Life of the Great American School System. Basic Books

This model can look something like this…

We base our mastery model on the following assumptions: Students acquire the critical habits of mind to learn independently.

Assessments require a student to develop a strategy, think through alternatives, persist, and evaluate their own progress.

Here at UCDS this organizational model drives an ongoing generative conversation about our students and our instruction. Our teachers not only want to build skills and the understanding of a concept they have selected from our Continuum, but also want our students to be highly engaged in thinking, generating solutions, and in collaborating with peers. As teachers work in grade level teams to select, adapt, and design curriculum they ask: Does the lesson provide every student a stretch? Does it connect with what the children already know and care about? What type of problem solving strategies and application skills are we hoping to foster? What types of practice work best and for whom? Are students learning how to learn in this domain? How will we coach students to evaluate their own work and to improve? What does mastery look like and what evidence will we use to evaluate our student’s performance?

Like a team of physicians discussing a treatment plan, our teachers use assessments to decide what is or isn’t working, and what to do next. We use multiple data points to measure progress but also recognize that a student’s current level of academic achievement is only part of the picture. Teachers know that a student’s drive, determination, and confidence are often more reliable measures of future success. We hold ourselves accountable to nurture this fire and use our Reflective Thinking Profile as a tool to understand how a student approaches learning, communicates, and solves problems.

We believe that assessment should drive both deep learning and excellent teaching. In our classrooms, teachers set the expectation that students will need different types and amount of practice to reach mastery. Students expect that they will be working at the edge of their ability but that they may in different places with different goals. Students also know that the teacher will be checking in to ask questions, provide specific feedback, and offer support. In every coaching conversation, teachers ask students to show/share their thinking, and help students evaluate their own work. Our aim is to help students develop the non-cognitive 21st century skills and habits of mind that they will need to learn independently. It is the quality of thinking and the skill of learning, rather than the speed to arrive at the correct answer, that we should seek to develop in our students. They deserve nothing less.

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Paula Smith Head of School

Students learn how to reflect, set goals, and to assess their own performance.

Assessments help students think about their own thinking.

Students learn how to initiate an idea.

Assessments require generative thinking.

Students become both a learner and a teacher.

Assessments require students to share, incorporate others ideas/feedback, and to publish/perform/impact their community.

Assessment resources from our bookshelves: Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement: Research on What Works in Schools

by Robert J. Marzano

Why does one student’s academic achievement look different from another’s?

Background knowledge is defined as what a person already knows about a subject before delving deeper. Based on research, the book begins with the premise of a relationship between achievement and background knowledge. Taking into account the differences in a student’s background and, thereby knowledge, upon entering the classroom, Marzano discusses approaches to building and enhancing a student’s academic background knowledge in school.

Learn more about the author at: http://www.marzanoresearch.com

Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World

by Tony Wagner

What kinds of skills do our young people need to be successful?

Wagner asked innovators in a wide variety of professions and fields what are the skills that matter most and what is most important to be a continuous learner and an active citizen, and he started to see some similarities in their responses. In a world where knowledge is a commodity and the pace of change is incredibly fast, Wagner explores the core competencies that young people should build in order to be innovators themselves.

From the research, a pattern emerges—a childhood of creative play leads to deep-seated passions, which in adolescence and adulthood blossom into a deeper purpose for career and life goals. Play, passion, and purpose: these are the forces that drive young innovators.

The book itself is innovative – readers are able to access online videos via the quick response codes for smartphone that allow for further exploration: http://creatinginnovators.com/the-book/

Spark Plugs Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills

by Daniel Coyle

Daniel Coyle’s latest book is a condensed pocketbook full of tips directly taken from the scientific researchers of the talent hotbeds the author visited. Coyle starts with the two premises: 1. We all possess talents.

2. We’re unsure how to develop those talents to their full potential.

His book takes off from there, providing the reader with some useful ideas to build talent.

For more information, see: http://thetalentcode.com/book/

How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character

by Paul Tough

Tough’s latest book explores the shift from a belief that schools and parents should focus on developing a child’s cognitive skills to a belief that what matters most in a child’s development is not the input, necessarily, but how to encourage and foster growth in a areas such as persistence, self-control, grit, and curiosity. The book discusses these non-cognitive skills, also known as personality traits or character; where they come from; and how they are developed.

More about Paul Tough and the book at: http://www.paultough.com

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Sticky Curriculum

The Reflective Thinking Profile: Assessing Student Learning Beyond the Core Academic Subjects

by Meg Herland & Jen Vary

A small group of students is brainstorming a list of

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possible polling questions to ask their classmates. One child listens as her friends rapidly list several options. Moments later she interjects, “I really like your idea of asking a question that has specific choices. What if we had four to choose from instead of two?� Her friends nod their heads in agreement and continue to formulate their plan...

Continued >

Employing the Reflective Thinking Profile, UCDS faculty carefully assess each student’s unique approach to each curricular and social context.

Students are assessed in Problem Solving and Collaborative scenarios across social and academic curricular curricula anc coached to explore new strategies in each arena.

Teachers work to assess each student’s communication style in various contexts and set targeted goals for exploration and growth.

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UCDS teachers design curricula that support students to be active learners, problem solvers and reflective thinkers.

At our core is the belief that to engage is to learn. Our curriculum is process driven and allows students to delve deeply into topics. As students work, their teachers observe how they approach each activity – their level of engagement and how they tackle problems. The teachers are attuned to each student’s process, noticing how they work individually and with others, recover and persevere through obstacles and challenges, communicate their ideas, and share what they have learned in multiple ways with peers and adults. As their students work, teachers facilitate conversations that help students reflect on their unique strengths and strategies. For this reason, the teachers at UCDS wanted a tool that would not only define these attitudes and work habits but also effectively affirm their importance as part of our curriculum.

We wanted a way to measure the personal characteristics that we, as educators, have always known to be

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integral to academic success. The UCDS Reflective Thinking Profile was developed by our faculty as a result and is specifically designed to assess these important skills.

The Reflective Thinking Profile is a collection of social modes and character skills that are actively fostered by our curriculum. The profile helps define each student’s unique ways of engaging in his/her work.

It spans all three academic skills continua—reading, writing and math— as well as the social/emotional arena.

The profile is purposeful in design and reflects an understanding that children’s engagement and mindsets are flexible and can look quite different from one subject to another. The tool is used for assessment and as part of a comprehensive twice-yearly student progress report for both teachers and parents. The profile helps teachers to create appropriate challenges and stretches for their students and shape curriculum. Moreover, it affirms our belief that the skills beyond the core academic skills have a vital importance for student success.

At UCDS, these less tangible modes and learning behaviors have long shared equal importance with traditional academic disciplines. Throughout the day, students are actively coached to develop the reflective thinking skills that support them in persevering when problem solving, in collaborating with others and in communicating their understanding. As students use materials and interact with each other, they build tools that go far beyond traditional reading, writing and mathematical skills. Because our curriculum is driven by process, our students go further in their investigations than they would if they were seeking only a correct answer.

They receive continuous feedback and are encouraged to reflect on their own strategies, gaining increased understanding, greater innovation and creativity in the problem solving process – core values at UCDS. On the UCDS Reflective Thinking Profile, habits and skills fall into three categories: Approach, Problem Solving/Collaborating and Communication.

Approach

refers to a student’s engagement in the process.

Assessment begins with understanding each student’s unique approach to complex problems and novel tasks. Faculty work to understand each student on a variety of levels.

How do they initiate a process? Do they need to draw or build to understand it? Or does a student need to talk it through, making a verbal or written plan to get started? For example, during the writing process in a first and second grade classroom, a teacher observes and asks questions as three first grade students begin brainstorming and creating their individual stories in Writer’s Workshop. One child approaches the storyboarding process through drawing the beginning, middle and end of her story while her peer makes a detailed list of story elements such as character names, setting and plot to include before she drafts and a third child works from a step-by-step graphic organizer to start his story. Each of these children has a unique mindset that drives their engagement and flexibility in working through each step in the process. Teachers coach students as needed, providing strategies that contribute to their process. Students make choices and internalize, through reflection and conversations with teachers, the methods that work best for them.

Problem Solving/ Collaborating refers to a student’s work habits and flexibility in the process.

Can they build upon the ideas of others?

Do they ask for help when needed? How do they receive feedback and support? What strategies do they use when presented with a complex problem? In the classroom, back at the writer’s table, students engage in problem solving as they have conversations with teachers and each other about logical next steps for their story line. As they work, teachers support individual students to set attainable goals, helping them to use their areas of strength to support them during their challenges. An integral part of the process for children is celebrating mistakes and missteps as part of learning.

Through the process they become adept at reevaluating and reframing, making discoveries about themselves as learners along the way. Persevering through a task and being preemptive in asking for help in the process are two of the strategies that teachers actively model for students.

These steps in the learning process are key elements of our curriculum.

Continued >

In each academic and social arena, students are encouraged to work in collaborative teams. Faculty assess each student’s process and understanding in these contexts and progress as part of an indivualized set of short and long term goals.

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Communication

refers to how students share their understanding.

Do they participate in discussions? Can they offer ideas to others? Do they reflect on their own unique skills and strategies? For example, at Writer’s Workshop, as a student shares her final draft of a family’s summer adventure, the communication process extends beyond her teacher to include her peers. As a result she receives suggestions, support and affirmation. She can then build off of others’ ideas to change and to inform her future writing pieces. The dialogue among student, peers and teacher are valuable in setting or changing her approach for the next project. The process of taking risks, persevering and reflecting are ongoing in the writing process but can translate into any academic setting or social arena.

At Language Groups and Literature Circle, faculty often assess student understanding by posing open-ended questions about shared reading. At right, students work to articulate their unique take on story events in a group setting.

The Reflective Thinking Profile is used to assess work habits and character skills throughout the UCDS program.

This tool is used in our Early Elementary with students as young as three and continues through their final year at UCDS in 5th grade. The benefit to students is that, over time, they increase their awareness of themselves as information seekers and problem solvers. Effectively, they build a toolbox that contains both academic skills and work habits that they can access to support themselves through future challenges. Students are coached in the process of social problem-solving on the playground and in the classroom. Learning how to advocate for themselves and listen respectfully to others are integral parts of learning. At student-led Class Meetings, students collaborate to solve classroom problems and create a set of rules and codes for themselves and their peers.

As 5th graders, students engage in a culminating service learning program, where they put the skills they have developed over the years into practice, identifying the needs of others in service to the greater UCDS community.

These skills share characteristics with those utilized in the classroom at math time, in small group literature

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discussions, as well as in technology class and in the science lab. Learning to ask questions, seek resources, work in groups, effectively build on the ideas of others and actively participate in the process of group problem-solving deepens understanding and prepares students to engage as lifelong learners. They recognize their own unique mindsets and discover that they have multiple strengths to rely on as they persevere through academic and social challenges.

Approach, problem-solving, collaboration and communication have all gained new attention in the educational arena. In an age where technology and information occupy an enormous and dynamic proportion of our lives, workers need to be adept at listening to diverse opinions, processing complex information and communicating their ideas effectively to others. The complexity of our modern world means an individual can no longer hold all of the information needed to arrive at a solution. Working with others, persevering on complex problems and communicating with people in diverse fields of study demand these skills. The UCDS Reflective Thinking Profile helps assess the skills that are vital to success in the 21st Century.

Related Spark Plugs: Carol S. Dweck, Ph. D. Mindset

Cathy N. Davidson Now You See It

The New Psychology of Success

How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform The Way We Live, Work and Learn

UCDS MATH CONTINUUM

Child

Emerging

Developing

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Rote counting to 31 __ Writes numerals to 10 __ Counts objects to 20 with one-to-one correspondence __ Skip counts by tens __ Uses language to describe quantity and relationship (more, less, equal) __ Adds using manipulatives (ages 4,of 5, 1/2 6) __ Understands the concept __ Creates single variable patterns

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Rote counting to 100 __ Counts objects beyond 20 with one-to-one correspondence __ Compares and orders numbers to 100 __ Groups units into sets of ten __ Uses a combination of tens and ones to build two digit numbers __ Recognizes, interprets and records addition (ages 5, 6, 7) equations

Discovery (ages 3, 4, 5)

(ages 4, 5, 6)

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Rote counting to 10 __ Recognizes numerals to 10 __ Counts objects to 10 with one-to-one correspondence __ Makes marks to represent numbers or equations Child __ Recognizes patterns __ Extends single variable patterns

Discovery Geometry and Measurement (ages 3, 4, 5)

__ Recognizes basic shapes __ Builds basic shapes __ Draws circles Types of Text and Oral Reading __ Notices Sorts objects by one attribute __ purpose of signs, labels, logos __ Compares relative size of objects (bigger, smaller, (environmental print) equal, etc...)own name in print __ Recognizes __ Engagement Uses descriptive language (size, speed, temperature, etc...) __ Shows interest in print Statisticsreading and Probability __ Explores materials (books, magazines, __ Collects charts) and counts objects or data Child __ Actively listens toto books read aloud, Contributes data a pictorial graph one-on-one __ Actively listens to picture books read aloud, in a group setting Reading Strategies __ Holds book correctly, turns pages __ Shows beginning/end of book or story __ Knows some letter names (ages 8-11) Comprehension and Response __ Responds to books __ Comments on illustrations in books Number Sense __ Participates in group reading (books, rhymes, Operations, Patterns, Varialbles poems, subtraction songs) __ Applies facts __ Demonstrates understanding of whole number place value __ Regroups using the subtraction algorithm __ Multiplies two-digit by two-digit numbers using partial products __ Builds simple division problems with remainders __ Builds equivalent fractions 8-11)with like denominators __ Adds and subtracts (ages fractions __ Understands decimals as parts of a whole

Bridging

Bridging

Geometry andand Measurement Types of Text Oral Reading __ properties of geometric shapes __ Identifies Reads a variety of books triangles) __ (circles,squares, Begins to identifyrectangles, specific genres (realistic fiction, __ Generalizes andand applies rules for area and historical fiction fantasy) __ perimeter Begins to identify reading material at independent __ Uses level manipulatives to find surface area and volume __ Reads aloud with fluency Engagement Statistics and Probability __ Interprets Reads for and increasingly longer periods (20-30 __ generalizes information found in bar minutes) and line graphs __ Finishes a variety of books Reading Strategies __ Uses context cues to increase vocabulary __ Uses word structure cues (e.g., prefixes, suffixes and compound words) Domaincues Marking Key: __ Self-corrects using punctuation __ Self-corrects for meaning using G context contents S __ Begins to use chapterDemonstrates titles and table of Sometimes toReflective locate information with guidance demonstrates Comprehension and Response independently Thinking __ Summarizes main idea of passage Profileand contrasts characters F C __ Compares and story Consistently events between texts Frequently demonstrates demonstrates __ Follows simple written independently directions independently __ Summarizes setting and plot __ Identifies main characters and supporting characters __ Identifies point of view of character

Emerging

Reflective Thinking Profile

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Demonstrates Sometimes with guidance demonstrates

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Frequently Consistently demonstrates demonstrates independently independently

Geometry and Measurement __ Combines 2-D shapes to form different shapes Types of Text and Oral Reading __ Reads Sorts objects or more attributes __ books by with2 increased focus on text __ Begins Uses language to basic describe relative location __ to identify genres (fiction, nonfiction (above, below, beside, etc...) and poetry) __ Begins Recognizes symmetry __ to read own writing __ Engagement Measures length, width and height using non-standard __ Begins to readunits for short periods (5-10 minutes) __ Uses time vocabulary (yesterday, today, tomorrow) Reading Strategies

21st Century Schools Online

21stcenturyschools.com

Fluent

Fluent

Approach

Uses a variety of reading strategies Reads across genres Prepares for literature discussions Displays eagerness towards literature.

GSFC GSFC

Chooses books at an appropriate level Focuses attention

(Engages in own books and listens to books read aloud)

(ages 7, 8, 9)

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Reads and writes numbers to 100 __ Skip counts by 2’s and 5’s __ Holds a number constant while counting on __ Regroups using manipulatives in addition __ Demonstrates understanding of 2-digit place value Teachers __ Demonstrates understanding of 3 digit place value __ Subtracts using manipulatives __ Recognizes and records sums up to 20 6, 7, of 8) 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 __ Relates pictures to(ages symbols __ Creates multi-variable patterns

Beginning

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Recognizes numbers to 1000 __ Applies addition facts __ Regroups using the addition algorithm __ Uses repeated addition to multiply __ Regroups using manipulatives in subtraction __ Recognizes, interprets and records subtraction equations __ Divides using manipulatives (ages 7, symbolic 8, 9) __ Understands pictorial and representations of fractions __ Compares numbers using >, <, = Types of Text Oral Reading Geometry and and Measurement __ Identifies Reads beginning chapter books __ 3-D shapes __ Measures Reads a variety of materials __ area and perimeter using manipulatives __ Uses Begins to read aloud with fluency __ tools to find metric and US measures Engagement and Probability __Statistics Reads silently __ data for analysis __Collects Reads for increasingly longer periods (15-20 minutes) __ Utilizes strategies for organizing data Reading Strategies __ Begins to use word structure cues (e.g., prefixes, suffixes and compound words) __ Begins to use meaning cues (context) to increase vocabulary __ Begins to self-correct for meaning using context __ Begins to self-correct on punctuation cues (throughbased adulthood) __ Identifies chapter titles and table of contents (text organizers) Comprehension Number Sense and Response __ Operations, Retells storyPatterns, events inVarialbles sequential order __Finds Makesand personal connections withforfacts, __ writes functional rules linear and characters and situations simple exponential relationships and patterns __Explains Compares and contrasts characters story __ numbers by comparing and and sequencing eventsnumbers, within a series whole fractions, decimals, percents, __exponents Makes predictions basednumbers on story events and negative __ Begins to follow simple written directions __ Performs operations on real numbers __ Applies associative and commutative laws to problem solve and check work

Expanding

Ellen Winner Studio Thinking

Geometry andand Measurement Types of Text Oral Reading __ 2-D shapes books to formwith different shapes __ Divides Reads early-reader controlled __ Identifies 2-D shapes in a variety of orientations vocabulary __ Identifies and creates single linenon-controlled symmetry Reads early-reader books with __ Measures, vocabularycompares and estimates using __ manipulatives Identifies basic genres (fiction, nonfiction, poetry) Uses basic punctuation when reading orally __ Identifies area and perimeter __ Reads own writing Statistics and Probability Teachers Engagement __ Reads, interprets and discusses information on __ simple Reads graphs (10-15 minutes) and charts __ Learns information from reading and shares with others __ Begins to make connections when listening to a story Reading Strategies (ages 11-14) __ Uses letter/sound cues and patterns (phonics) __ Reads high frequency words __ Begins to self-correct Number Sense Comprehension andVarialbles Response Operations, Patterns, __ Applies Begins to retell and end __ order ofbeginning, operationsmiddle to solve equations __ Uses Identifies characters and story eventsproblems __ ratios and proportions to solve __ Describes simple algebraic rules for patterns __ Multiplies fractions __ Divides whole numbers by fractions __ Finds percent of a known quantity

The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education co-authored with Lois Hetland, Shirley Veenema, Connecting Continuing and Kimberly Sheridan

Statistics and Probability __ Relies on illustrations and print __ to graphs and charts __ Adds Uses information finger-print-voice matching __ Compares and contrasts findings Knows letter names __ Knows letter sounds __ Blends letter sounds __ Begins to read high frequency words __ Uses letter cues to(ages make10-13) guesses about words __ Identifies titles and authors Comprehension and Response __ Retells event or idea in literature Numbermain Sense __ Participates in guided Varialbles literature discussions Operations, Patterns, __ Applies division facts __ Uses long division algorithm __ Multiplies and divides with decimals __ Converts fractions to decimals __ Finds missing variable in simple addition, multiplication, subtraction and division equations __ Identifies relationship between fractions, decimals Geometry and Measurement and percents __ Measures angles and lengths (ages 10-13) (ages 11-14) to construct 2-D (Ages 12+) Geometry and Measurement Geometry and Measurement figures __ Creates angles according to their properties __ Understands relationships between measuring __ Recognizes symmetric figures and identifies lines of __ Measures angles and lengths to construct 3-D systems figures symmetry Types of Text and Oral Reading Types of Text and Oral Reading Types of Text and measurable Oral Reading __ Compares different attributes of __ and circumference of a circle __ propertieschildren’s of polyhedra and 3-D (height, length, weight, __ Identifies Reads challenging literature __ Finds Readsarea complex children’s literature __polygons Reads young adultshapes literature __ knowledge of ratios to create a scale map area, volumebooks and perimeter) __ Statistics Begins to select and read nonfiction __ Applies Reads nonfiction __capacity, Selects and finishes from a variety of genres and Probability or drawing __ Predicts Begins toand develop strategies and criteria for __ Begins to select and finish a variety of genres __ Understands concept of rate finds likelihood of outcomes Reading Strategies selecting a variety of mode reading materials __ Uses strategies and criteria for selecting reading __ Uses mean, median, and range to analyze Statistics and Probability __Statistics Begins to and integrate nonfiction information to further Probability __ data Reads aloud with fluency and expression materials possible outcomes using a variety of __ Represents develop understanding of a topic of the same data __ Questions different interpretations Reading Strategies Reading Strategies methods (area or tree diagrams) __ Seeks recommendations and opinions about __ Displays data in a variety of graphic forms __ Creates data analysis __ Begins to use resources to locate information Uses resources locate information literature from others investigations: considers __ Finds all possibletooutcomes for a given situation to problem, collects and records data, describes and __ Reads information from graphs __ determine Analyzes information probability from graphs, tables and Comprehension Response interprets data andand develops hypotheses based on __ Uses table of contents and index to locate maps __data Generates in-depth oral responses to literature information __ Uses resources to increase vocabulary __ Generates in-depth written responses to literature __ Uses resources to increase vocabulary Comprehension and Response __ Identifies literary devices Comprehension and Response __ Begins to discuss author’s purpose and style __ Begins to reflect on literature from varying points Key __ Discusses literature with reference to setting, plot __ Begins to identify literary devices (e.g., simile, of view and characters metaphor, personification, foreshadowing) __ Begins to develop criteria for evaluating literature W = winter __ Begins G to Sdiscuss theme __ Begins to generate response in small the process __ Begins to interpret and analyze reading content F C Implements a variety of strategies G Sin-depth F C Effectively documents S = spring __ Begins G to Suse vocabulary in oral and written group literature G discussions critically F Cnew Perseveres S F C Expresses ideas with clarity Continuum adapted by University Child response to literature __ Begins to generate in-depth written responses to __ Makes connections between text and environment G S F C Asks questions to support process G S F C Collaborates Development School with permission __ Begins to infer and draw conclusions literature F C Modifies GS F C Reflects from Bonnie Campbell Hill. No part of __ Begins G to Ssupport opinionsstrategies with reasons and __ Uses increasingly complex vocabulary in oral and the Continuum may be reproduced G S F C Displays flexibility examples written response to literature or used without written permission of G S F C Estimates, predicts and assesses reasonableness __ Begins to summarize nonfiction information University Child Development School. of an outcome __ Uses reasons and examples to support ideas and Revised 09/2010. conclusions __ Begins to make connections between text and environment

Proficient

Proficient

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Expanding

(ages 6, 7, 8)

UCDS READING CONTINUUM

Geometry and Measurement Types of basic Text and OralinReading __ Identifies shapes the environment __ Memorizes words or phrases to read __ Draws triangles and rectangles __ Recognizes names of signs, labels, logos __ Demonstrates understanding of relative location (environmental print) (above, below, beside, etc.) __ Recognizes some names and words in context __ Measures using non-standard units Engagement __ Uses comparative language __ Actively listens to chapter books read aloud in a __ Demonstrates group setting awareness of time (before/after) __ Imitates conventional reading-notices pictures/text Statistics and Probability __ Sustains exploration of reading materials (5-10 Records data minutes)findings __ Shares Reading Strategies __ Uses illustrations to tell stories __ Follows text top to bottom, left to right and front to back (ages 9-12) __ Practices finger-voice-print matching __ Knows most letter names and some letter sounds __ Begins to blend and segment sounds orally Sense __ Number Uses picture cues to make guesses about words Operations, Patterns, Varialbles Comprehension andfacts Response __ Applies multiplication __ plays with words __ Rhymes Regroupsand using subtraction algorithm across zeros __ Participates in reciting of familiar books, poems __ Applies multiplication algorithm and songs __ Connects Uses manipulatives long to division __ books readforaloud own experience __ Builds improper fractions and mixed numbers __ Adds and subtracts fractions with unlike denominators __ Compares and orders fractions __ Reduces fractions (ages 9-12) __ Generalizes understanding of place value for whole numbers and decimals __ Adds subtracts with decimals Typesand of Text and Oral Reading __ Reads medium-level chapter books Geometry and Measurement __ Identifies reading materials at independent level properties of polygons __ Identifies specific genres historical __ Compares, contrasts, and(realistic identifiesfiction, angles fiction, fantasy) __ Generalizes and applies rules for volume and __ Begins read aloud with expression surface to area Engagement Statistics and Probability __ Reads for extended periods (30-40 minutes) __ Identifies relevant data __ Reading OrganizesStrategies data to create graphs __ using the glossary, __ Gathers Interpretsinformation informationbyfrom a variety of graphs captions and indices to increase understanding __ Calculates mean, __ Reads tables and median maps and mode __ Finds facts in nonfiction Comprehension and Response __ Begins to discuss literature with reference to G setting, S F C Takes risks plot and characters S F C Focuses attention between fact and __GRecognizes the difference G opinion S F C Identifies salient information __GResponds to issues and ideas in literature, as well S F C Displays eagerness towards mathematics or story events G as S Ffacts C Formulates a plan __ Makes connections to other authors and books G S F C Makes informed predictions __ Follows written directions

Domain Marking Key:

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Perseveres Seeks resources Identifies own reading strategies and pursues goals

Independent

Communication GSFC GSFC GSFC GSFC GSFC GSFC

Offers ideas Expresses ideas effectively in discussions Responds to the ideas of others Takes support role in discussions Asks questions Shares favorite reading materials

Key W = winter S = spring Continuum adapted by University Child Development School with permission from Bonnie Campbell Hill. No part of the Continuum may be reproduced or used without written permission of University Child Development School.

Revised 12/2012.

In addition to being its own document as illustrated on the previous pages, the Reflective Thinking Profile extends to each main curricular area. Above are the Reflective Thinking Profile “bands” that accompany the UCDS Reading, Writing and Math Continua documents.

9

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At UCDS we purposely choose the

forms of assessment that best serve our students and teachers. Over the years we have researched, gathered and created a variety of assessment tools and practices that guide how and what we teach. UCDS teachers carefully choose and create assessments that not only give us information about a child’s academic performance but also provide insight into a child’s thinking process.

In particular, we know that when students reflect on their own thinking they become successful independent learners. Through reflection on one’s own thinking process, an individual practices learning how to learn. In turn, each student develops independence

and the ability to generalize his or her thinking strategies to other problemsolving scenarios. In fact, we consider these reflective skills to constitute the core of our program, providing a platform on which academic growth occurs.

Our curriculum is built from a continuum of skills or benchmarks (at right) that describe how we generally expect students to acquire academic abilities.

We acknowledge that academic growth is not always a linear process, and the continua documents allow teachers to note where a child’s abilities currently lie without being constrained by his or her age or grade. These are living documents that we regularly review. Throughout

UCDS MATH CONTINUUM

Child

Emerging

Developing

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Rote counting to 31 __ Writes numerals to 10 __ Counts objects to 20 with one-to-one correspondence __ Skip counts by tens __ Uses language to describe quantity and relationship (more, less, equal) __ Adds using manipulatives __ Understands the concept of 1/2 __ Creates single variable patterns

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Rote counting to 100 __ Counts objects beyond 20 with one-to-one correspondence __ Compares and orders numbers to 100 __ Groups units into sets of ten __ Uses a combination of tens and ones to build two digit numbers __ Recognizes, interprets and records addition equations

Discovery (ages 3, 4, 5)

(ages 4, 5, 6)

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Rote counting to 10 __ Recognizes numerals to 10 __ Counts objects to 10 with one-to-one correspondence __ Makes marks to represent numbers or equations __ Recognizes patterns __ Extends single variable patterns Geometry and Measurement __ Recognizes basic shapes __ Builds basic shapes __ Draws circles __ Sorts objects by one attribute __ Compares relative size of objects (bigger, smaller, equal, etc...) __ Uses descriptive language (size, speed, temperature, etc...)

Statistics and Probability __ Collects and counts objects or data __ Contributes data to a pictorial graph

Geometry and Measurement __ Combines 2-D shapes to form different shapes __ Sorts objects by 2 or more attributes __ Uses language to describe relative location (above, below, beside, etc...) __ Recognizes symmetry __ Measures length, width and height using non-standard units __ Uses time vocabulary (yesterday, today, tomorrow)

Statistics and Probability __ Records data __ Shares findings

Statistics and Probability __ Adds information to graphs and charts __ Compares and contrasts findings

Fluent

Proficient

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Applies multiplication facts __ Regroups using subtraction algorithm across zeros __ Applies multiplication algorithm __ Uses manipulatives for long division __ Builds improper fractions and mixed numbers __ Adds and subtracts fractions with unlike denominators __ Compares and orders fractions __ Reduces fractions __ Generalizes understanding of place value for whole numbers and decimals __ Adds and subtracts with decimals

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Applies division facts __ Uses long division algorithm __ Multiplies and divides with decimals __ Converts fractions to decimals __ Finds missing variable in simple addition, multiplication, subtraction and division equations __ Identifies relationship between fractions, decimals and percents Geometry and Measurement __ Creates angles according to their properties __ Recognizes symmetric figures and identifies lines of symmetry __ Identifies properties of polyhedra Statistics and Probability __ Predicts and finds likelihood of outcomes __ Uses mean, median, mode and range to analyze data __ Displays data in a variety of graphic forms

(ages 8-11)

(ages 9-12)

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Applies subtraction facts __ Demonstrates understanding of whole number place value __ Regroups using the subtraction algorithm __ Multiplies two-digit by two-digit numbers using partial products __ Builds simple division problems with remainders __ Builds equivalent fractions __ Adds and subtracts fractions with like denominators __ Understands decimals as parts of a whole Geometry and Measurement __ Identifies properties of geometric shapes (circles,squares, rectangles, triangles) __ Generalizes and applies rules for area and perimeter __ Uses manipulatives to find surface area and volume Statistics and Probability __ Interprets and generalizes information found in bar and line graphs

Geometry and Measurement __ Identifies properties of polygons __ Compares, contrasts, and identifies angles __ Generalizes and applies rules for volume and surface area Statistics and Probability __ Identifies relevant data __ Organizes data to create graphs __ Interprets information from a variety of graphs __ Calculates mean, median and mode

G

S

Demonstrates Sometimes with guidance demonstrates

GSFC GSFC GSFC GSFC GSFC GSFC

Takes risks Focuses attention Identifies salient information Displays eagerness towards mathematics Formulates a plan Makes informed predictions

Teachers

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Reads and writes numbers to 100 __ Skip counts by 2’s and 5’s __ Holds a number constant while counting on __ Regroups using manipulatives in addition __ Demonstrates understanding of 2-digit place value __ Demonstrates understanding of 3 digit place value __ Subtracts using manipulatives __ Recognizes and records sums up to 20 __ Relates pictures to symbols of 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 __ Creates multi-variable patterns Geometry and Measurement __ Divides 2-D shapes to form different shapes __ Identifies 2-D shapes in a variety of orientations __ Identifies and creates single line symmetry __ Measures, compares and estimates using manipulatives __ Identifies area and perimeter Statistics and Probability __ Reads, interprets and discusses information on simple graphs and charts

(ages 7, 8, 9)

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Recognizes numbers to 1000 __ Applies addition facts __ Regroups using the addition algorithm __ Uses repeated addition to multiply __ Regroups using manipulatives in subtraction __ Recognizes, interprets and records subtraction equations __ Divides using manipulatives __ Understands pictorial and symbolic representations of fractions __ Compares numbers using >, <, = Geometry and Measurement __ Identifies 3-D shapes __ Measures area and perimeter using manipulatives __ Uses tools to find metric and US measures Statistics and Probability __ Collects data for analysis __ Utilizes strategies for organizing data

Connecting

Continuing (through adulthood)

(ages 11-14)

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Applies order of operations to solve equations __ Uses ratios and proportions to solve problems __ Describes simple algebraic rules for patterns __ Multiplies fractions __ Divides whole numbers by fractions __ Finds percent of a known quantity Geometry and Measurement __ Measures angles and lengths to construct 2-D figures __ Measures angles and lengths to construct 3-D figures __ Finds area and circumference of a circle __ Applies knowledge of ratios to create a scale map or drawing Statistics and Probability __ Represents possible outcomes using a variety of methods (area or tree diagrams) __ Finds all possible outcomes for a given situation to determine probability

Problem Solving GSFC GSFC GSFC GSFC GSFC GSFC

Expanding

(ages 6, 7, 8)

(ages 10-13)

Approach

Domain Marking Key:

Reflective Thinking Profile

Continued >

Beginning

(ages 5, 6, 7)

Geometry and Measurement __ Identifies basic shapes in the environment __ Draws triangles and rectangles __ Demonstrates understanding of relative location (above, below, beside, etc.) __ Measures using non-standard units __ Uses comparative language __ Demonstrates awareness of time (before/after)

Bridging

the process of examining our reading, writing, and math continua, we sparked discussions about the problem solving skills that surround academic abilities.

These skills seemed to fall under the bigger umbrella of Critical Thinking.

As we considered the ways students communicate their understanding, approach and method to solve problems, we decided that these abilities were not unique to one academic content area.

And so, with that realization, we were ready to embark on creating a continuum that would give a picture of each child’s Critical Thinking abilities.

Implements a variety of strategies Perseveres Asks questions to support process Modifies strategies Displays flexibility Estimates, predicts and assesses reasonableness of an outcome

Number Sense Operations, Patterns, Varialbles __ Finds and writes functional rules for linear and simple exponential relationships and patterns __ Explains numbers by comparing and sequencing whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percents, exponents and negative numbers __ Performs operations on real numbers __ Applies associative and commutative laws to problem solve and check work Geometry and Measurement __ Understands relationships between measuring systems __ Compares different measurable attributes of polygons and 3-D shapes (height, length, weight, capacity, area, volume and perimeter) __ Understands concept of rate Statistics and Probability __ Questions different interpretations of the same data __ Creates data analysis investigations: considers problem, collects and records data, describes and interprets data and develops hypotheses based on data

Communication GSFC GSFC GSFC GSFC

Effectively documents the process Expresses ideas with clarity Collaborates Reflects

Key W = winter S = spring

The UCDS Math Continuum (above) is one of several assessment documents developed by faculty and staff.

F C These documents use a combination of developmental research, state and national learning-standards, and school-specific curricula to track student growth in each major subject area. Faculty use the Math, Reading and Writing Continua to assess student learning and communicate with parents on a regular basis. independently

Frequently Consistently demonstrates demonstrates independently independently

Continuum adapted by University Child Development School with permission from Bonnie Campbell Hill. No part of the Continuum may be reproduced or used without written permission of University Child Development School.

Revised 09/2010.

Continuum adapted by University Child Development School with permission from Bonnie Campbell Hill. No part of the Continuum may be reproduced or used without written permission of University Child Development School.

11

Our original plan was to

create a fourth continuum, modeled after the reading, writing and math continua we were already using. We didn’t realize at the start just how long, complex and valuable this journey was going to be. We wanted this continuum to go beyond the list of skills and concepts that were carefully teased out in the other documents. Our ambition was to create a multi-dimensional tool not only to assess a child’s thinking but also to assess the process of thinking.

We devoted many of our in-service days over the next two years to thinking about thinking. The school worked with the staff of ILABS, University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, to begin the process of looking deeper into our own practices in light of the exciting, emerging research in the field of neuroscience.

Small teams of teachers traveled to attend workshops hosted by Mel Levine, John Ratey, Ron Richhart and the Foundation for Critical Thinking.

Upon returning from such workshops, these teachers led the staff in discussions to further understand the thinking process. We filmed students solving puzzles and interviewed them about their processes. As a staff we

reviewed and reflected on these videos.

We repeated this exercise with teachers working through puzzles and problems.

We invited researchers and leaders in the field to visit our school and add their perspectives and knowledge to our discussions. These visitors included Robert and Michelle Root-Bernstein, Ellen Winner, Jennifer Amsterlaw, Ron Richhart, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and John Ratey. We also broke into small groups to read about and share a variety of teaching philosophies including Bloom, Vygotsky, Dewey, Waldorf, Piaget, Montessori, ReggioEmilia and Levine. These activities helped the faculty create shared language and informed our ongoing discussions. We explored and tested a few versions of the UCDS Critical Thinking Continuum over the next few years (below).

One surprising decision that we arrived at was that a Critical Thinking continuum was not serving the purposes we hoped it would. The language seemed to emphasize science and math rather than fitting all domains and the layout implied that the document was tracking linear skills that to us seemed better described as learning traits or habits

of mind. We came to the conclusion that one continuum would not suffice.

We needed to add information about thinking processes to each of the existing continua (reading, writing and math) to illustrate how an individual’s thinking and problem solving was often dependent on that specific domain. For example, one child may consistently explain his or her thinking when solving a math problem, but may not do this in a literature group discussion. Having a place on each continuum to document thinking in a specific domain gave a more thorough picture of each student.

Although including descriptors of a student’s thinking process in each academic continuum deepened the way we used these assessment tools, faculty still believed that providing additional information about a student’s Reflective Thinking with peers and in the community could valuably document how a child’s social/emotional skills are growing.

To this end, faculty began developing a resource to describe Reflective Thinking, which is a snapshot of how a student interacts with the community and approaches situations where problems need to be solved. In order to support this valuable part of our

After several revisions and ongoing experimentation, the evolving Critical Thinking Continuum struck the UCDS faculty as being too focused on math and science domains, but not as universal as the Reflective Thinking Profile would soon become.

At left is the Critical Thinking Continuum.

12

1. Defining

curriculum, we decided to re-envision the fourth planned continuum as the UCDS Reflective Thinking Profile.

This description is a profile because it provides a snapshot in time of a student’s communication and collaboration style. From year-to-year, these snapshots are an ongoing source of data on how a student is developing as a learner and community member.

In addition, this document acts as a guide for teachers as we continually coach students on how to practice and implement these essential skills.

Characteristics

Starting with the exisiting Critical Thinking continuum and incorporating reasearch, faculty identified and prioritized Reflective Thinking skills.

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The continua and Reflective Thinking Profile are used to assess and track a child’s growth and are considered living documents. As a faculty we examine these documents regularly, discuss their effectiveness and adjust them to reflect what we value and teach. The useful documents that result from these cooperative efforts are appreciated by all. By far the most value comes from what we gain taking the journey together. By undertaking this process, it gives us time to delve into theories about learning and thinking and more clearly define what we want to coach and assess in our everyday teaching.

a Framework

With the help of developmental psychologists’ findings, faculty explored different organizational schemes for a new document.

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Like a snail shell … spirals outw Creativ e Thinkin ard. around through g the six bloom stage Start in the center, then cont inues stage, it’s on a s, but each time high phase, but it may er level. (Two people may be you reach the same Concep at the understan look totally diffe tual Thi nking different levels, ding rent because they i.e on different ’re unde rstan rungs of the spira ding on l.)

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devised a variety of ways to graphically organize these traits using spirals, circles, pyramids and spider webs. With revisions, the work led to an early, experimental version of the Reflective Thinking Profile (below left). The final version of this document can be seen in the Sticky Curriculum article on Page 4.

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The Reflective Thinking Profile is designed to show how a student approaches learning and furthers understanding. It is a visual representation of an individual's thinking process, problem-solving preferences and areas of strength and confidence.

This profile differs from the Math, Reading and Writing Continua in that students do not follow a sequence of ages and developmental stages.

Changes within each year and over the course of a student's UCDS career reflect periods of equilibrium and disequilibrium. The profile is a “snapshot in time” of how a student operates within the curriculum, both academically and intra-/inter-personally.

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Authentic Assessment: What Works

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by Alyssa Barr & Melissa Holbert

Walk through the doors at University Child Development

School and you will immerse yourself in a form of authentic assessment that occurs daily in each of our classrooms. You will see it as children work collaboratively with peers, individually and one-on-one with teachers. Our interactive daily assessments drive curricular planning in all subject areas and allow for the individualized instruction of our students. We all know that academic assessments from around the world come in a variety of forms depending on the school district, leadership, required curriculum and teachers. Typically these assessments inform school leaders, teachers and parents about a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s periodic progress. At UCDS we use a format of daily authentic assessments that are beneficial not only to the teachers and parents but also to the students. Our systems for daily anecdotal assessments provides information for teachers that allows them to generate innovative and skill-specific curricula, detailed communication to parents and individual stretches and goals for students each and every day.

For UCDS teachers, the development of our daily curricula and the assessment of how it worked is a cyclical process: decide the academic skills to be addressed, create the project, try it out with students, assess their work on that project, evaluate the overall effectiveness of the project with colleagues and redesign the next steps based on what was observed from the students.

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unpack this process by looking at the subject area of math...

Continued >

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Monday, October 15, 2012

Good morning, Animal Experts! In Research Groups you've been digging deep into oddities of the animal kingdom. Today you are going to start planning your own zoo.

First, decide which animals to include in your zoo.

Use the list provided or check in with a teacher for other creatures' habitat sizes. The area that animal needs to be happy is provided. Your next step is to figure out the possible dimensions - the length and width- of each of the enclosures. Find the perimeter of each enclosure, as well.

Next, arrange your enclosures in a map layout for your whole zoo. What is the area and perimeter of your whole zoo? parakeet 9 feet2

zebra 81 feet2

wallaby 12 feet2

giraffe 90 feet2

fruit bat 25 feet2

seal 144 feet2

arctic fox 45 feet2

hippopotamus 225 feet2

spider monkey 64 feet2

polar bear 324 feet2

Frog Tank

width = 2 feet length = 3 feet area = 6 feet2 perimeter=10 feet

Our math curriculum is a dose of complex story problems inspired by classroom read-aloud books and targeted mathematical concepts that are all packed into a daily “Math Vitamin.” The development of each Math Vitamin begins with our Math Continuum of skills. Teachers use the skill benchmarks found in that continuum document as a resource to create a thoughtful, invigorating story problem.

For this example, teachers create a project that will address multiplication and factoring skills and connect to a story line about animal research found in their classroom readaloud book. As students begin to explore the math task, the teacher overhears two students talk about their strategy to find all the possible factors for 32.

“I think we should start with a number line and then start checking to see if each number will build an array for 32.”

With a plan in place, the two students continue the Math Vitamin process. As their strategy moves past 16, they begin to notice that no new numbers are building 32. At this point the teacher assesses their process and steps-in to add the depth needed to move these students to a new level of thinking. She challenges them to look at patterns and relationships with factors. “Let’s look at other arrays and see what you notice about how factors are growing.”

The students quickly notice that numbers past the halfway mark of the original number will never have any new factors.

“Wow! That is totally going to save us so much time with our bigger numbers.”

Moving around the room, the teacher assesses

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another student’s process and observes that she is not interacting with the peers next to her and that the paper she has for documenting her work remains blank. Even though there are students around her at the table who are talking and engaged with the project, this student is sitting quietly and not working. After asking the student specific questions, like “what is this problem asking you to find out?” or “what section should we start building to find the array?” the teacher gains critical information about how to make an individualized plan to help this student move forward. In this case, the teacher decides to create a specific model for the student to follow and makes a goal for the student to check-in before each new array is built.

The two examples above illustrate how the teacher first observes the students’ approaches to the problem, how the students begin by applying their foundational skills, and how the students use their peers, teachers and the available manipulatives as resources to help navigate through the Math Vitamin process. In addition to attending to academic skills, teachers are assessing how students approach the overall mathematical challenge: whether they persevere when they experience difficulty, for example. Teachers are also assessing what problemsolving strategies a child can implement and also how s/he communicates his/her work orally and through documentation. All these individual observations are part of our daily authentic assessments and serve as the main tools that inform our next steps with curricular development and designing individual student stretches/goals. These assessments also serve as a concrete foundation for parent conference communication.

This method of generating skill-based curricula, trying it out and assessing students’ work in real time is the core process that allows for two things to occur: - The individualization needed to address and stretch the different ability levels in the classroom.

- Continued development of curricular tasks that are broad and exciting enough for a classroom of students to eagerly ponder yet can be easily tailored and are relevant to each child.

At right are a few key authentic assessment strategies that teachers watch for and employ in the classroom as students work through tasks individually and collaboratively.

Asking ourselves “what worked and what didn’t work” after each lesson is a UCDS faculty hallmark. These daily curricular assessments and debriefs add depth and clarity to our collegial conversations.

Assessment Strategies Student approach -

Teachers are thinking about how the student approaches a task. For example, when teachers are assessing students during the above mentioned Math Vitamin, they find students who need help reading the storyline and extrapolating important information and help them get started solving the problem. With students at this level, discussion about the facts, even underlining important information along the way, is used to help the students approach their Math Vitamin successfully.

For students who easily gather information independently, the teacher uses open-ended questions and observations about what other students are doing to lead students into a deeper recognition of number patterns and thus extend their mathematical thinking.

Students are also expected to demonstrate the depth of their thinking through documentation of their ideas and written reflective statements about how they find their solutions. These authentic assessment interactions and observations help teachers understand what students specifically need in order to be successful throughout the problem solving process.

Creating an implementation plan -

A Different Way to SEE assessment…

Be sure to check out our online SPARK resource where you can access our Math Continuum.

Different mathematical strands at varying levels are highlighted with informative videos that illustrate how skills are taught.

For a different way to see how assessments guide our curriculum and how teachers are meeting and stretching students, visit: http://www.ucds.org/spark/math-continuum/4beginning/numbers-5.html

Teachers are checking to see how students implement their foundational strategies in order to solve multi-step tasks. Teachers ask students open-ended questions to assess whether or not students have a firm understanding of or plan for how to solve their task. If students are having trouble answering questions, like “what is it you are trying to solve today?” or “what are you going to do to solve this problem?” then it is clear that these students may need a more structured and individualized plan to help them through the process.

Depending on the needs of the student, teachers may offer a working model or a process chart with specific steps for the student to follow in order to move successfully through the Math Vitamin.

Student documentation -

Once students have a plan, teachers observe how they apply their plan and how they document their process to bring clarity and accuracy to their thinking. Documentation is key to authentic assessment because it gives teachers an in-depth picture of students’ thinking processes and understanding of a topic. Teachers are able to assess how students use their foundational skills and apply them to solving a problem. Students’ documentation allows teachers to assess how students use different strategies to organize their ideas as they work through real tasks. Teachers observe how students are using charts, tables, columns, labels and reflective sentences to communicate and bring clarity to their thinking. This documentation work is also used in parent conferences to demonstrate application of skills and complexity of topic understanding.

Providing a stretch -

Teachers are observing how students reflect about their ideas. Are students independently creating stretches or willing to accept those next steps offered by the teacher? Do they retreat from a challenge? Is their work increasingly illustrating efficient and sophisticated methods of problem solving?

In this video clip, students are measuring the length of an extender needed to press a button on a Micro-Blaster to return read-aloud character Jonathan back to his original size. Students are charged with the goals of measuring the length of their string with rods, recording their process and writing an equation. Teachers assess students’ knowledge of single digit, double digit and triple digit place value while offering coaching as the students try out new and unfamiliar skills. The first student is comfortable with single-digit place value but is guided through the process of breaking apart double-digit numerals into tens and ones. The second student is ready for a triple-digit numeral stretch. Challenged to measure a longer string, this student combines her rods into groups of tens to find her total. A teacher assesses this student’s understanding of triple digit numeral, 215, by building her total using two 100 flats, one ten-rod and five units.

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People Who Inspire Us

Correct An Interview with Larry Rosenstock

by Julie Kalmus

UCDS parent, John Neilson loved ideas; those he found in literature and those he gained through a deep appreciation of world culture, math, science, art, music, philosophy and physical excellence.

In 1999, at the age of thirty-eight, John lost a hard fought battle against non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

In honor of John’s life, The Neilson Endowment Fund was created.

Through the Teacher Education Center at UCDS, we use this endowment to create and share programs that offer children access to big ideas.

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John was an inspiration to us in life and we dedicate this, ‘People Who Inspire Us’ section to him.

Larry Rosenstock is CEO and founding principal of High Tech High, a network of eleven K-12 public charter schools in California, and is Dean of the High Tech High Graduate School of Education.

Larry taught carpentry in urban high schools in Boston and Cambridge and was principal of the Rindge School of Technical Arts, and of the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. A member of the Massachusetts and U.S. Supreme Court Bars, he served as an attorney at the Harvard Center for Law and Education, and was a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He directed the federal New Urban High School Project, and was president of the Price Charitable Fund.

UCDS has closely followed the evolution of the High Tech High philosophy and its program of tinkering and creating. Teams of UCDS administrators and faculty have visited High Tech High for trainings, inspiration and collaboration.

A few of us at UCDS had the opportunity to speak with Larry Rosenstock about High Tech High’s educational model and the role that assessment plays in project-driven schools. The following is an excerpt from that conversation.

SPARK: What makes the High Tech High model effective?

Larry Rosenstock:

We have teachers working in teams.

We don’t see teachers working in autonomous isolation. If you looked out of my office, you would see a classroom shared by two teachers: one math/ science and one history/humanities.

Each of them has sightlines through glass into each other’s classrooms right in front of them. There is a wall that is a partition and is moveable. Each of them can control their schedule as a pair however they want to. We still cover all the requirements for the state of California, but the teachers will decide how it gets done.

You begin this by getting people working together, and we have a few ground rules for that. One rule is to be hard on the content and soft on the people. The other is that anyone who doesn’t want to do what the rest of us want to do doesn’t have to do it, but they can’t keep the rest of us from doing it if we want to. This works quite well. You’ve got to get people meeting with each other, and you’ve got to get people meeting with each other in a very different way. In most schools, the math teachers meet five afternoons a year and that’s it. We really focus on having the teachers meet who have the same kids that year.

When you think about the conversations that your faculty is having, what do you think the tenor of the conversations should be? How does assessment play a role in that conversation?

We use a lot of protocols for these conversations. A lot of them come from Project Zero and places like that. But we also talk to each other in a regular way, just like regular people. For example, today we are having a conversation reflecting on whether something has worked, why it worked and whether or not we want to tweak it some more.

We’re assessing our work in real time.

What do you think about traditional assessments? How do you think assessment should be defined?

I think that the traditional assessment is about standardized testing and Advanced Placement (AP). I think that traditional assessment doesn’t work.

Let me break it down… I’ve got my Einstein quote on the wall, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”

Continued >

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Here, at High Tech High, we give out expectations, not standards. The problem with the word “standards” is that you add a few letters and you get the word “standardization.” At High Tech High (HTH), we have kids making and doing things. They publish books. They create art. They build and construct. Dewey said, “There is no such thing as genuine knowledge and fruitful understanding except for as the offspring of doing.”

People have to

do something

to the things that they wish to understand.

Let’s start with AP. Chip Heath heard about how we have honors and nonhonors courses. He also heard we have kids that are taking honors and who not taking honors taking math from the same teacher at the same time. Our thinking is this way no one feels like they are in the dumb class and that anyone can add honors to move up within the first three weeks of class.

Chip wanted to know how sticky it was, meaning, what percent of kids who began in non-honors went to honors. It turns out it was 71 %.

Now, you have magazines that rank schools based on AP course taking.

High Tech High doesn’t have AP courses, but we have a lot of kids who take the AP exams and some who are AP scholars. We just think that the pedagogy of memorizing biology words is kind of a disincentive to those kids who want to be biologists. So we have them do real science. AP, however, still flourishes as some notion of rigor.

When you have got honors and nonhonors both in the same class at the same time and 71% migrate to honors, college admissions offices then accept honors as an absolute equivalent to AP. So, that’s an indicator.

We do care about assessment, but what we are assessing is college entrance and college completion rates.

We also look at the rates at which

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students major in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. It turns out we have double the national average of kids majoring in those areas at University.

What about standardized tests?

As far as standardized tests are concerned, I’m just sorry that it has gotten to where it has gotten. It has gotten to some sort of extreme. At High Tech High, we have to take all the standardized tests. We have to because we are a public school. We do fine on them but we don’t spend that much time on them because they are really the school’s test. We are more interested in the kid’s test (the SAT) rather than the school’s test (a standardized district test). A lot of districts have had a lot of improvement in their standardized test scores. But now, look at the same organizations and look at the SAT scores. Look at what percent of the kids are taking the SAT, which is often a small percent.

You are then going to have to wonder how could the school have really good standardized scores and have such small percentages of kids taking the SAT and not doing that well on them. That’s another issue in terms of assessment that doesn’t work.

What about learning standards?

They have to alter conditions. This is the lesson of the laboratory method and this is the lesson that all education has to learn.

So how does this inform how a school creates it’s program?

I think we need to rethink what we need to learn and how we actually learn. Learning is much more social than it used to be. We are in a world of constant change. We are in a world in which school districts were created in the early 1800s. Since then, telecommunication has changed, transportation has changed, and heterogeneity has changed. We have had this older view of pedagogy and knowledge, the idea that pedagogy is a way to transfer the substance of knowledge from the teacher’s brain to the kid’s brain. It’s an “I teach, you learn” model with neat little rows of disciplinary knowledge.

Now, we are moving into a more social view of learning:

I participate therefore I am.

We participate, therefore we are.

So, we learn much more through our interactions with others in the world.

Nothing really beats collaborative study groups in that regard, especially for homework and exam preparation. The social construction of understanding is a very, very real thing. There is true power in collaborative learning.

Why can’t we turn everyone at a school into both a learner and a teacher?

Nothing really clarifies ideas better than explaining them to others. High Tech High is a place where the students are also doing the explaining, where we are reversing the flow a little bit.

What are we going to do to create next generation John Dewey schools?

The essence of Dewey’s quote to me is that education should be about altering conditions. Kids should be riffing and sampling, all the kind of stuff that Hip Hop is about. Learning should be visual, musical, procedural and cinematic. This is the kind of stuff that kids love! It’s a way to transform knowledge.

collaborative work environments?

Is there a way to assess those more invisible skills?

If you look at the employment at the Bureau of Labor and look at why most people get let go – other than economic reasons for the organization in general – most people get let go because they don’t know how to work with other people.

So when people ask me what are the real skills, I always ask them to sit down and write about their most memorable learning experience. Without fail, it involved a group, there was a mentor, there was public exhibition, there was recognition of success, there was fear of failure, and the experience was multidisciplinary. It didn’t come from the State Department of Education, it didn’t come from superintendent and it didn’t come from the principal. It came from you; you just told us how you learn best—respectfully and thoughtfully. So, how does this comport with the way that we teach? Ask a human being who was a great teacher they had and why they were a great teacher and everyone will say it was a passionate person who loved the subject matter, made it come alive, brought students into it.

The epistemology is changing – we need to shift from human as knower to human as maker.

And that’s what tinkering is.

Visitors to HTH say that they have never seen such a high percentage of kids so actively engaged.

Kids are free to fail and fail again and then get it right. They are free to imagine. They are free to have an epiphany. They are learning to reframe the world by looking forward. Here, we always say, “Correct forward.” We are trying to look towards the future and use a triangle of imagination, inspiration and intuition and a sense of awe to help kids engage the world around them and change it.

In terms of assessment, we need to shift from measuring factoids to measuring re-creation, re-mixing, and productive inquiry.

Life in the digital age is about cultural participation with building and tinkering, remixing and sharing.

We want kids thinking, “What I produce, others build upon.” That is what a remix really is. It’s a mash-up and a play of imagination. It’s about tinkering and discovery and figuring things out.

So what are the skills that students need to be successful in those

Photos courtesy of High Tech High.

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NON-PROFIT ORG. U. S. POSTAGE P A I D SEATTLE, WA. PERMIT NO. 02488

University Child Development School

UCDS Board of Trustees Officers Janet Donelson, Chair Kate Marks, Vice Chair Greg Headrick, Treasurer Peggy Rinne, Secretary Members at Large Howard Burton Michelle Goldberg Joe Gruber Jarrad Harford Steve Hollomon Julie Prentice Caroline Probst Eric Sanderson Faye Tomlinson Kobi Yamada Ex-Officio Members Paula Smith, Head of School David Brannon-Cirone,

Parent Association President Jennifer Vary, Faculty Representative

University Child Development School 5062 9th Ave NE Seattle, WA 98105 206-547-UCDS (8237) Fax 206-547-3615 www.ucds.org

The UCDS Mission University Child Development School designs a culture of inquiry essential to meaningful learning. We cultivate reflective, collaborative, skillful thinkers who ignite positive change in their communities. We engage diverse perspectives in an ongoing effort to shape and share our innovative education model.