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Teacher Leadership in assessmenT

• Cecil Swanson School • Bassano School • St Michael’s School • Horace Allen School •



Case Studies in K–3 Literacy



Case Studies in K–3 LiteracyA joint project of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, the Alberta Assessment Consortium and the following four Alberta elementary schools: Cecil Swanson, Calgary Board of Education; Bassano, Grasslands School Division; St Michael’s, Medicine Hat Catholic School Division; and Horace Allen, Livingstone Range School Division.

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Leadership in Assessment

Teacher Leadership in AssessmentProject Leaders• J-CCouture,ExecutiveAssistant,Governmentprogramarea,AlbertaTeachers’Association

• RobertHogg,ExecutiveDirector,AlbertaAssessmentConsortium

AcknowledgementsThis project on literacy assessment was guided by an advisory committee of education partners. The committee was involved in the initial stages of the project, and provided invaluable input and advice regarding the purpose of the study and its research plan.

Leadership in Assessment Project (LAP) Advisory Committee• DennisBelyk,Director,LearnerAssessmentBranch,UniversityofAlberta

• JohnBurger,SeniorManager,SystemImprovementandReportingDivision,AlbertaEducation

• RebeccaGokiert,Director,Community–UniversityPartnership,EarlyChildhoodMeasurementandEvaluationResourceCentre,UniversityofAlberta

• JacquelineLeighton,AssociateProfessor,CentreforResearchinAppliedMeasurementandEvaluation,DepartmentofEducationalPsychology,UniversityofAlberta

• ShelleyMagnusson,ProgramManager,EnglishLanguageArts/LiteracyK–12,CurriculumBranch, Alberta Education

• JillMcClay,GraduateCoordinator,DepartmentofElementaryEducation,UniversityofAlberta

Special thanks to• MichaelPodlosky,ExecutiveAssistant,ProfessionalDevelopment,AlbertaTeachers’

Association, for his advice and initial involvement with school sites.

• ShelleyMagnussonforheradviceandinvolvementduringthewriters’workshop,and engagement in the analysis and evaluation of the project.

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ContentsWhy a Project on Literacy Assessment? .............. 5

Cecil Swanson School, Calgary, Alberta ............ 11

Bassano School, Bassano, Alberta .....................29

St Michael’s School, Medicine Hat, Alberta ...... 49

Horace Allen School, Coleman, Alberta .............65

Building Capacity for Teacher Leadership in Assessment in Alberta Schools ........................... 77

References ......................................................... 86

Copyright©2008bytheAlbertaTeachers’Association(ATA) 11010142StreetNW,Edmonton, AlbertaT5N2R1

Reproduction of material in this monograph is authorized for classroom and professional development useprovidedthateachcopycontainfullacknowledgementofthesourceandthatnochargebemadebeyond the cost of printing. Any other reproduction in whole or part without prior written consent of the ATA is prohibited.

OnecopyofthismonographisavailablefreeofchargetoallATAmembers.Thereisacharge($7.50)foradditionalcopiesandalsofornon-ATAmembers.PricingandorderinginformationisavailableontheATAwebsiteatwww.teachers.ab.ca/services/publicationsorfromATADistributionat780-447-9400(Edmonton);tollfreewithinAlberta1-800-232-7208.

Design: Yuet Chan

ISBN978-1-897196-63-2

COOR-75200810

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Why a Project on Literacy Assessment?

TheAlbertaTeachers’Association(ATA)andtheAlbertaAssessmentConsortium(AAC),withfacilitationsupportfromAlbertaEducation,workedwithstafffromfourschoolstoundertakeacollaborativepilotstudy(LeadershipinAssessmentProject[LAP])todevelopacomprehensive,sustainableandscalableprogramtoimproveteacher-managedassessmentand evaluation. The focus was on building the leadership capacity of teachers in their role as reflective practitioners who are focused on improving assessment practices that reflect the diversityandcomplexityofclassrooms.Underlyingthisprojectisacommitmenttoimprovingstudent learning.

Butwhyfocusonliteracy?InMarch2006,AlbertaEducationdraftedtheK–3 Numeracy/Literacy Report. This report resulted from an Alberta Education provincewide consultation on literacyandnumeracyintheearlygrades.Astakeholderadvisorycommitteewasconvenedtoprovideinputandadviceonthebackgrounddocumentsandconsultationprocess.Representatives from the ATA; the Alberta School Boards Association; the Alberta Home and SchoolCouncils’Association;theAssociationofIndependentSchoolsandCollegesinAlberta;theCollegeofAlbertaSchoolSuperintendents;theAlbertaChildrenandYouthInitiative;a school principal; and Alberta Education staff from various branches participated on the advisory committee.

Consultationswereconductedwithkeystakeholdergroups,andinformationwaspostedon Alberta Education’s website for individual or group response. Eight special forums were

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conducted with parents across the province, including one for Aboriginal parents, and as a result of the consultations, eight recommendations were developed in collaboration with the advisory committee for consideration by the department.

OneofthoserecommendationswasthatAlbertaEducation,witheducationstakeholders,research,developandcommunicateworkingdefinitionsofnumeracyandliteracyrelatedtoAlbertaEducation’sprogramofstudies.Inresponsetothisrecommendation,theCurriculumBranch,alongwiththeFrenchLanguageServicesBranch,proposedtodevelopaframeworktoenhancestudentachievementinliteracythroughtheK–12programsofstudy.TheframeworkwillincludeacontemporarydefinitionofliteracyintheAlbertacontext.In2004,theCouncilofMinistersofEducation,Canada(CMEC)agreedtoadoptaliteracyactionplantoincreaseliteracylevelsofallCanadiansandtohelpCanadiansacquirethehighestlevelofliteracyskillsintheworld.InNovember2006,CMECdraftedaliteracyworkplan,whichincludedpolicywork,sharingofpromisingpractices,effectiveuseofdataandresearch,anddevelopmentofapan-Canadiancommunicationandpublic-awarenessstrategy.

What Is Literacy?As is discussed in the Statistics Canada report Measuring Adult Literacy and Life Skills:

New Frameworks for Assessment (Murray,ClermontandBinkley2005,93),thedefinitionof literacy has changed along with changes in our society, economy and culture. The increasing importanceoflifelonglearninghasbroughtaboutexpandedviewsofliteracy,aswellas increased demands of literacy.

Theliteracyskillsneededforparticipationinsociety,individualadvancementanddailylifeinthe19thcenturyweredifferentfromthoseneededinthe20thcentury,andthoserequiredforthefuturewillbedifferentstill.Technologydrivesmuchofoureconomyinthe21stcentury,andourcitizensareexpectedtoknowhowtocommunicateinincreasinglycomplexways.

ResnickandResnick(1977)pointoutthatliteracyinitsearliestformconsistedoftheabilitytosignone’sname.Thedefinitionofliteracyhasgrownovertheyearstoincludetheabilitytoreadtoacquireinformation.Infact,“Themostcommonunderstandingofliteracyisthatitisasetoftangibleskills—particularlythecognitiveskillsofreadingandwriting—thatare

“Literacy is

the ability

to identify,

understand,

interpret, create,

communicate

and compute,

using printed

and written

materials

associated

with varying

contexts.”

(UNESCO 2003)

Our research team—Leaders in Assessment

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independentofthecontextinwhichtheyareacquiredandthebackgroundofthepersonwhoacquiresthem”(UNESCO2005,149).

Definitionsandunderstandingsofliteracyhavebroadenedandchangedoverthelast50years.In1949“theUnitedNationsGeneralAssemblyenvisionedtheminimumrequirementsforfundamentaleducationasincludingdomesticskills,knowledgeofotherculturesandanopportunitytodeveloppersonalattributessuchasinitiativeandfreedom”(UNESCO2005,159).Asdefinitionsofliteracyhaveshiftedfromadiscretesetofskillstohumanresourceskillsforeconomicgrowthtocapabilitiesforsocioculturalchange,articulatingthedeeperconceptualaspectsofliteracyhasbecomemoredifficult.Aproposedoperation-aldefinitionwasformulatedduringaUNESCOinternationalexpertmeetinginJune2003.Itstates:“Literacyistheabilitytoidentify,understand,interpret,create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials as-sociatedwithvaryingcontexts.Literacyinvolvesacontinuumoflearninginenablingindividualstoachievetheirgoals,todeveloptheirknowledgeandpotential,andtoparticipatefullyintheircommunityandwidersociety.”Thisproposeddefinitionencompassesseveraldifferentdimensionsofliteracy.Anattendant challenge has to do with accurately monitoring and assessing the multipleformsofliteracy(UNESCO2004).“Tome,beingliterateencompassesself-discipline,controloflanguage,facilitationofpersonalexpression,creationofcompassionandanunderstandingoflifeoptionsanddecisions.It’sacollectivesenseofbeing part of a more scholarly life, a more passionate life, and that is my goal as a teacher. To reacheverykid,every kid,wemustconstantlysearchforthemeanstobringthatkidintotheliteracyfoldbyengagingtheminpassionatelearninganddiscourse”(Morgan2006,388).

Fullan(2006,1)notesthatpubliceducationhasanewmissionandthatis“togetallstu-dents to meet high standards of education and to provide them with a lifelong education that doesnothavethebuilt-inobsolescenceofsomuchold-stylecurriculumbutthatequipsthemtobelifelonglearners.”Inordertomeetthisnewmissionitisessentialthatalltheelementsrequiredforsystemicsuccessarecreativelyassembledintheserviceofreformthattouches every classroom.

Asavarietyofcomplextextsbecomeanintegralpartofbasicsocial,politicalandeconomicinstitutions,people’sabilitytopartakeinthefreeexchangeofinformationisbecomingthenewdefinitionofaliteratesociety.Aseducatorswehavearesponsibilitytoensurethatourclassroomsarepreparinglearnersforthenewliteracyrequirements.“Theclassroommustbeaplace where literacy becomes inescapable because it is not only the passport to connecting and makingsenseoftheworld,itisultimatelykeytomakingtheworldabetterplace”(Hilletal2006,392).

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Teacher Leadership in Literacy DevelopmentA Case Study Approach

AkeythreadrunningthroughtheK–3Numeracy/LiteracyReportwastheimportanceat building teacher assessment capacity. As well documented in the research literature (Leithwoodetal2004b;HerrandAnderson2005),supportforprofessionalinquiryembeddedinthedailyworkofteachersisaprovenapproachtoschoolimprovement.FourschoolsrepresentingsomeofthediversityandcomplexityofAlbertaclassroomswereselectedfor participation in this project. Each school report included in this publication underscores the need to recognize that literacy and numeracy development in the early years of learning is notalinearprocessthatcanbereadilydescribedinsimplisticterms.Itwasinlightofthisrecognitionthatthispilotprojectwasdevelopedandinitiatedinthe2006-07schoolyear.Threekeygoalswereestablishedfortheprojectincollaborationwiththefourschoolsiteteams:

This collaborative pilot study is intended to

• formthebasisforamultijurisdictionalprovincialresearchprojecttodeepenandextendthedevelopment of multiliteracies in emerging priority areas, such as the implementation of the new social studies program;

• informstudentassessmentpracticesandpolicydevelopmentthroughtheactive engagement of participating jurisdictions and schools in support of a broader view of studentlearningbeyondafocusordependencyonlarge-scaleexternalassessments;and

• influenceclassroomassessmentpracticeandassessmentpolicydevelopmentinother provinces and territories in Canada.

Four Texts of Action Research— A Model for Professional Inquiry

Afour-corneredtemplateprovidedascaffoldforsharingandlinkingduringthecourseoftheLeadershipinAssessmentProject(LAP).Thetemplateincorporated

a)individualreflections,

b)school-sitereportsand

c)afinalsummaryreport.

Amodelforstructuringteachers’reflectionsontheircollaborationinquiryrelatedtotheirpracticeswasdevelopedforthisprojectbasedontheactionresearchworkofLuce-Kapler(1997).Thisfour-cornerwritingspaceoffersapowerfulanalyticalframeworkforbringing together the multiple ways that teaching practice is inferred by school and community characteristics as well as the individual and collective histories of those involved in professionalinquiry.

Whilesite-basedwritingaddressedallfourcornersduringtheproject,sitereportinghasbeen appropriately constructed and edited for the intended audiences.

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Pretext•Whatconditionsexistedintheschool

that contributed to the selection of the particular students and the learning targets?

•Howdidyourpersonalassumptionsandexpectationsabouttheprojectandthe students affect the initial selection and targets you set?

Professional reflection about biographies, histories, memories

Context•Whatcommoninterestsinimproving

student learning brought you together as a group of teachers?

•Whatweretheinitialgoalsforthetargetedstudents(ie,thetargetsandmeasures)?

•Howwerethestudentsselected?

Professional reflection about expectations, targets, what-ifs

Subtext•Whatdidyou notknowaboutthe

students and project goals?

•Astheprojectunfolded,whatdidyouavoid saying? thinking?

•Whatdidyouavoidasking

•abouteachother?

•aboutthetargetedstudents?

•aboutthestaffatlarge?

Professional reflection about echoes, exclusions, murmurs, voices not heard, words not spoken

Retext•Howdidtheprojectcontributetostudent

learning(intermsoftheinitialgoalsandtargets)?

•Whatwerethekeymomentsofchallengeand progress •foryou? •fortheteam? •forthestudents? •forthestaff?

Professional reflection about surprises, hindsight, measures, targets

Thesefourtextsofactionresearchremindusthatauthenticleadershipinassessmentisabouthelpingteacherscrosstheboundarybetweenselfandother,meandnotme,knownandunknowninordertoimprovetheirinstructionalpractice.

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Cecil Swanson

School

Cecil Swanson School

Calgary Board of Education

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Who Are We?Wearenothomogenized,likemilk.Wearevariety,difference,us.Wehavespirit,determination,dedication.Welove.

a place of safety, of nurturinga place to call our own.a school where all are accepted, diversity celebrated,changeever-presentmet with joyful perseveranceall who live here welcome,support, model, accept.

Wearefromcelebratedlearning,smallachievementsacknowledgedco-workerswithlisteningearsalways willing to lend a hand.

A place where a smile, apatontheback,a granola bar, aconsequencegivenare so important tothosewhowalkthrough the door each day.

Students bring their whole selvesstories not left behindembroideredsilk,salwaar kameez,sandals, a pair of shortstwo moms, no dad, one mom, one dad, brothers, sisters, aunties, uncles.

Children deemed delayed,deficient,different,talented, gifted, ordinaryfull members of our communities

CecilSwanson,equity,notequalityforall!

Composed during the June 2007 writing retreat in Waterton

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PRETExT

Our SchoolCecilSwansonElementarySchoolhasabout350students.Itislocatedintheculturallyand

economically diverse community of Rundle, in northeast Calgary.Approximatelysevenyearsago,CecilSwansonexperiencedasuddenshiftintheschool

population.Upuntilthattime,onlyabout6percentofourstudentswereESL.Overtwoyears,theESLpopulationquadrupledandhascontinuedtoclimbsteadily,suchthatatthemoment(June2007)60percentofourstudentsareESL.LargelybecauseofthesharpincreaseinhousingcostsinCalgary,theschoolisalsoexperiencingmorestudenttransience.The2006/07schoolyearsawasmanystudentsarriveandleaveinthefirstthreemonthsasintheentire2005/06schoolyear.

Our StudentsCecil Swanson School strives to maintain a consistently positive atmosphere, and parents

frequentlycommentonthestrongsenseofcommunity,thesharedcommitmenttothework,andtheengagementofstaffandstudentsinthelearningprocess.Schoolstaffalsospeakofa sense of community, and of their appreciation for and enjoyment of diversity. Our school welcomesallwhocomehereandseekstomakeuseoftheirstrengthstoenrichourcommunity.Ourstudentshaveastrongunderstandingofequityandfairness,andapproachotherswithahelpful attitude.

Standardizedtestsandotherlarge-groupassessmentsarebasedonanassumptionof underlying uniformity and are a unidimensional way of measuring student achievement. They act as sorting mechanisms. At Cecil Swanson, the norm is diversity rather than uniformity. Our students have the usual physical and emotional attributes of children anywhere,buttheirbackgroundknowledgeandexperiencevarywidely.Forexample,althoughCalgaryislessthananhour’sdrivefromtheRockyMountains, we have many children who have never seen them. At the same time, we have students who are intimately familiar with the Himalayas.

Wealsohavestudentswhocomefromdifficultcircumstances.Forexample,lastyearwewelcomedayoungboywhohadattendedfiveschoolsbyGrade2,andwhowasaccustomedtoeatingcrumbsoffcarpets.Wealsoseechildrenwhoexceedourexpectationsandconstantlysurpriseus.Forexample,thisyearafive-year-oldkindergartenstudentwhosepassionistrainsgaveapre-sentation to his classmates in language far beyond his years.

CecilSwansonhasalargeandvariedimmigrantpopulationfromapproximately25culturalgroups,manyfromsouthandsoutheastAsia.Withinthisgroupthereisagreatvarietyofback-groundandexperience.Wehaveliterateandnonliteraterefugees.Wehaverecentimmigrantparents who are well educated and trained in a variety of professions, including engineering andveterinarymedicine.WehavefamilieswhohavebeeninCanadafor20yearsandwhomaintainstrongtiestotheiroriginalculture.Wehavestudentswhohaveneverattended

Standardized

tests and other

large-group

assessments are

based on an

assumption

of underlying

uniformity

and are a

unidimensional

way of

measuring

student

achievement.

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The Cecil Swanson School research team (left to right): Keele Kozak, Janis Kristjansson, Joan King, Tancy Lazar and Neelam Mal

school, those who have attended many schools in a few years, those who have attended privateandpublicschoolsabroadandthosewhohaveattendedonlyCecilSwanson.Wealsohave two classes of students with moderate to severe cognitive challenges.

Our StaffCecilSwansonstaffvalueandappreciatediversityandequity,andworktomaximizethe

learningofallstudents.Werecognizethatfullaccesstomainstreamculturerequiresastrongeducation based on the Alberta program of studies. Assessment of learning and assessment for learning together provide essential information that allows us to design learning to best meet theneedsofourdiverselearningcommunity.Unfortunately,normedassessmentsaredesignedto capture the sameness of students and not their special abilities. Furthermore, normed as-sessmentsoftendon’ttelluswhatwereallyneedtoknowtomeetourstudents’needsandtocapturetherichnessandvarietyoftheirvariedbackgrounds.

TheLeadershipinAssessmentProjectwasagreatopportunityforustobetterunderstandthediverselearnersatourschoolandtointenselyexaminehowwegatherinformationaboutyoung learners in the areas of reading, writing and mathematical literacy.

Althoughwewereinitiallyunsureofwhatthisprojectwouldentail,asprincipal,Iwasneverthelessintriguedwhenaskedtomeetwithcolleaguestodiscussdiversityinourstudentpopulation.IhavealwaysfeltstronglythatamajorgoalofpubliceducationinCanadaistoteach children to value and welcome diversity and difference, and to honour the principles of democracy.

Wehelpourstudentssucceedbyhelpingthemmakethebestuseoftheirstrengths,talents,skillsandknowledge.Wealsovaluetheopportunitytoshareourthinkingandourquestionswithothers.ThefollowingteachersformedtheresearchteamforthisLeadershipinAssessmentProject:

•JoanKing(Grade1/2)•KeeleKozak(kindergarten)•JanisKristjansson(principal)•TancyLazar(Grade1/2)•NeelamMal(Grade3/4)

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ConTExT

Our Research QuestionAswegatheredaroundthetabletodiscussourideasforthisproject,webegantotalk

aboutthedifficultiesfacedbyourstudentsduetotheir“ESLness,”bywhichwemeantissuesrelatedtodifferencesnotonlyinlanguagebutalsoinculture,experienceandknowledge.Ourstudentsareoftenseenaslackingsomanythings:Englishproficiency,backgroundexperienceandculturalunderstanding.Mosttesting,whetheritisGradeLevelofAchievement(GLA)reporting,provincialachievementtests(PAT)ordiagnosticassessments,measuresthesestu-dents’so-calleddeficiencies;thatis,whattheycannotdo.Weneedtofindwaysofteachingandassessingthathonourandrespectstudents’uniqueexperiencesandwaysofknowing;inotherwords,whattheycando.Asastartingpoint,then,weaskedourselvesthefollow-ingquestion:Amidst the complexity and diversity of our students, what does it mean to diagnose and respond in ways that honour and enhance the knowledge of both teachers and students?

As a team, we decided that each teacher would choose a student from her class to focus on,andwewouldtestourdatabyhavingmorethanoneteacherobserveandworkwitheachchild.

The Targeted StudentsThe four students were selected for their individuality; together they represented many of

thesignificantissuesweworkwith.

Joan King, Grade 1/2 (Asha)IchoseanESLstudentfromIndia,whocametoCanada18monthsago.AshaisinGrade2

andisastrongstudent—eagertolearn,alwayssitsatthefront,comesdressedforanimportantday(thisishowsheseesschool),doesherworkneatly.Ashaisthetypeofstudentanyteacherwould identify as a capable learner.

AsanESLteacherinaschoolwith192ESLstudents,Ihavetheuniqueopportunitytoobserveandworkwiththesestudentsastheyprogressthroughthegrades.AshaisverysimilartotheESLstudentsIseeinthehighergrades,whotendnottowanttodrawattentionto themselves. She does not demand attention and appears to be academically engaged, but she struggles with concepts. By the time her struggle becomes apparent, valuable time has beenlostandlearninggapshaveappearedthatcouldhavebeendealtwithifIhadknownabouttheproblemsfromthebeginning.Thisexperiencetellsmethatwemustbeabletoseebeyondthesurface,beyondwhatthesestudentsappeartobelearningandunderstanding.Weneedtofigureouthowtoclosethesegapsbeforetheybecomechasms.

Keele Kozak, Kindergarten (Abram)Abram is fluent in Russian. His parents describe him as very shy; however, he is involved

inalmosteveryaspectofclassroomlife.Abrameagerlyworkswithavarietyofstudentsandadults, and he is very productive during centre time, building amazing and complicated

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structures,aloneandwithpeers.Hehasstrongfine-motorskillsandisacreativeartist,bothwith a variety of art materials and on the computer. Abram smiles and laughs and has a sparkleinhiseyes.Heknowsalltheactionstomanysongsandalwaysdoeswhatisexpectedof him. He is able to communicate with adults and his peers to meet his own needs, even thoughhedidnotspeakasinglewordinthefirstthreemonthsofschool.

Tancy Lazar, Grade 1/2 (Sam)Sam is a happy boy who appears to enjoy coming to school. He misses school for cultural

holidaysandspenttwomonthsofhisGrade1yearinIndiatocelebrateaholidaywithhisextendedfamily.Samissomewhatoblivioustowhatisgoingonaroundhim,bothonthe playground and in the classroom.

EnglishisSam’ssecondlanguage.Samisexperiencingchallengesinavarietyofsubjects,butitisdifficulttodeterminewhichproblemsarecausedbylanguagelimitationsandwhichare caused by other factors. Sam is currently waiting to see a pediatrician for assessment. Pendingtheresults,theschoolpsychologistwilllikelyassesshim.

SamisinGrade2butisfunctioningbelowGrade1level.InNovemberhecouldnotreadalevel3ontheDevelopmentalReadingAssessment(DRA)forearlykindergarten.Hehadverylimitedsightvocabularyandhadregressedconsiderablyinhisletter/soundrecognitionfromtheendofGrade1.Hestruggledtoskipcountandcouldnotmakeitto100countingbyones,twos,fivesortens.Hecouldnotdobasicadditionorsubtraction.Thisbeingsaid,whatmakesSamsopuzzlingishisinconsistency;hecancompleteataskandexplainhisthinkingonedaybutnotthenext.Onedayhedemonstratesabasicunderstandingofadditionanddoesseveralquestions,includingaddingtwonumberstogether,yetthenextdayhecannotadd2+4.Samcan be completely focused and coherent at one point in the day, yet hours later be incoherent andunabletofocusoneventhemostbasictask.

Neelam Mal, Grade 3/4 (George)Georgeis,withoutdoubt,themostcomplexchildIhaveevermet.Choosinghimfor

this study seemed very appropriate. He has witnessed terrible violence at home and has only recently begun to feel a sense of safety and security. He often worries about food, and nothavingarecesssnackonedaywasatraumaticeventforhim.Hisschoolinghasbeensignificantlyinterrupted;whenhearrivedhereinGrade2,CecilSwansonwashissixthschool.ThoughEnglishishisonlylanguage,hislanguageandcommunicationskillsareminimal,andhestruggleswithspeaking,reading,writingandmath.Dueinparttohiscontinualtransienceandhispersistentstateofanxiety,Georgehasbeenstrugglingtocommittohislearningandhis school placement.

WhenhewasinGrade2,Georgeusedtocryhystericallyandinconsolablyeveryday.Hewouldhideundertablesandincornerswherehethoughtnoonewouldfindhim.Overthecourse of the past year, though, George has started to develop a sense of security and belong-ing.Heisstillanxiousattimesandtendstopanic,particularlyattimesofchange,suchasthebeginningoflongweekendsorbreaksintheschoolyear.

By all conventional standards, George doesn’t measure up, but anyone who meets him canseethatthereismoretothiscomplexchild,whoselearningandknowledgearebasedonhis strong desire to be safe and who essentially needs two things: food and love. George is developing and growing every day, and this progress should be noted and celebrated.

Sam can be

completely

focused and

coherent at one

point in the day,

yet hours later be

incoherent and

unable to focus

on even the most

basic task.

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How do teachers work through the issues of student transiency and absenteeism? What role does school and jurisdiction support play in this process?

Student scores on reading comprehension assessments can vary by two grade levels, dependingonthestudent’sbackgroundknowledge.Twoparallelpassagescanyieldonescoreat frustration level and one at independent level. A person’s ability to understand depends largelyonthenumberofconnectionshisorherbrainmakestothingsitalreadyknows.Intheabsenceofthoseconnections,learningisslowanddifficult.Whenthereisnosharedback-groundorculturalknowledgebetweenstudentsandtestdesigners,orbetweenstudentsandteachers,itisextremelydifficulttopredictandunderstandstudentresponsestotasks.

Teacher-designedassessmentencountersthissameproblem.Recently,duringamathclass,one team member watched as many strong math students were stalled on what seemed to be asimpleproblem.Fortunatelythesestudentshadbeentaughttoanalyzeandquestionconfus-ingwords(whichisnotaseasyasitsounds;towit,howdoweknowwhatwedon’tknoworlearntounderstandwhatwedon’tunderstand?).Oneofthestudentsfinallyasked,“Isapairofshortsoneshortortwo?”Clarificationofthisapparentlysimplepointresultedininstantsuccess for the students.

The Value of Observation, Discussion and Questioning in Professional Inquiry

Observationanddiscussiongiveourstudentsachancetoshowuswhattheyknow,andachancetofeelheardandappreciatedfortheworktheyaredoing.Observationanddiscussionhonourstudentsandgiveteachersachancetoenhancestudentknowledgebyhelpingstu-dentsseetheirmisconceptions.Byreallylisteningwhenweaskquestionsduringobservation,welearnmoreaboutstudentsandtheirlearningneedsthanwedobysimplyaskingthemtocompleteapencil-and-papertest.Onetestalonedoesnottellastory.

Usingobservationandquestioningfordiagnosticassessmentisnotsimplyamatterofde-cidingwhetheryoufeelstudentsknowordonotknowwhattheyshould.Diagnosticassess-ment has to be based on the curriculum, which is also what forms the basis of one’s teaching. Ifassessmentdoesn’tmatchinstructionbasedontheprogramofstudies,accuratediagnosisofstudents’ learning needs is impossible.

Alltheteacherparticipantsinthisstudystruggledwithdifficultquestionsandissuesoutof fear that any criticism of standardized testing would reflect badly on students and would suggestthatwedon’twanttotestthembecausetheyaresomehowinadequate.Thisisnotwhat we believe at all. All our students are the future of Alberta and Canada; if we dismiss them, we lose a great resource. The potential of our community and country lies in our ability touseassessmentwiselyandtoidentifyourchildren’sspecialknowledgeanduniqueness.To appreciate the value of diversity, we must be able to see things from different perspectives. TancyLazarexpressedthefollowingaboutherworkwithSam:

SomeofthequestionsIhadduringthisprojectwere:HowcanIeffectivelydiagnoseastudent’slearningneedswhentheychangesorapidly?HowdoImeettheneedsof a student whose needs are changing hourly? Are observation and listening to and questioningastudent’sresponseenoughtodiagnosethatstudent’slearningneeds?

By really

listening

when we ask

questions during

observation, we

learn more about

students and

their learning

needs than we do

by simply asking

them to complete

a pencil-and-

paper test. One

test alone does

not tell a story.

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Myfirstinstinctwastorushoutandlearnaboutsomesortofstandardizedtest.Aftercarefulconsideration,IrealizedIdidn’tneedtodothat.IhadthetoolsIneededrightatmyfingertips.IneededtositandwatchSamintheclassroom,andaskhimquestionsabout what he was doing and why and really listen to him.

ThemoreIthoughtaboutit,themoreIrealizedthatstandardizedtestsareinadequatetoassessthelearningneedsofmystudents.Firstofall,two-thirdsofmystudentshaveEnglish as their second language, and the tests are not written with that in mind. The testsdonottakeintoaccountthevariedexperiencesofmystudentsandtheylackthebackgroundknowledgerequiredtoanalyzeandanswerthequestions.

Second,inSam’scaseastandardizedtestwouldgiveabrieflookatwhathecoulddoatthatparticularmoment.Itwouldnotshowwhathecandoonagooddayorwherethedifficultiesstemfromonabadday.Observingastudentworkingonasettaskgivesalotmoreinformation,especiallyifyouaskhimquestionsaboutwhatheisdoingorwhyhetookaparticularstep.Observing,questioningandreallylisteningtostudentsprovidesomuchmoreinformationabouttheirthinkingandopenuptheassessmenttoallowtheteacher to really help that student, to provide a better understanding of where the stu-dent went wrong and to show how the teacher can help students understand their errors.

NeelamMalcommentedonherworkwithGeorgeasfollows:

InspendingmytimewatchingGeorgesocarefully,Iworryabouthisfuture.Ifeelasthough it is only a matter of time before he is off again to another school to start all over from scratch. He needs so much consistency in his daily life. He is beginning to trust, to takerisksandconnectwithotherpeopleandhasalreadymadesomanygains.Iwonderwhat will happen to him if it is all pulled out from underneath him.

Iwatchhisinteractionswithotherstudents,ontheplaygroundandinclass,andIseethatdevelopmentallythisboyisfunctioningatakindergartenlevel.Thisraisesques-tionsabouthisacademiclearning.HeisinGrade3andonlyjustbeginningtoread.Hiscommunicationskillsaresolow.Howwillhecatchup?Willhecatchup?Ibelievethatnotallpeopleprogressthesameway,atthesamerate.SomedaysIthinkthathewillbejustfine.Anothermorerealisticandpessimisticpartofmerealizesthatbasicskillsarerequirementsforplainoldliving.Whatwillhedo?Whatwillhappentohim?Iworryabouthisnothavinghisacademicneedsmet.HowdoIattendtohisemotionalstateandstillmakesurehegetsitallin?

Another vital aspect to assessing students and enhancing their learning is the understand-ing that multiple viewpoints and multiple sources of information are crucial.

NeelamMalsummeditupthisway:

AtaBuddhistcelebrationIattendedafewweeksago,therewasalotofdiscussionabouttryingtoseeandexperiencethingsfromoutsideofourownpersonalworldview.IntryingtoapplythisphilosophytoGeorge,Iammoreawarethatoftenwhenwetrytopinpointexactlywhatachildknowsoratwhatlevelheisfunctioning,thisknowledgebecomesdifficulttosharewithothers.IhavelearnedsomuchaboutGeorgefromread-ing,writingordoingmathwithhim;throughtimespenttogether,duringwhichIcoachandwebothcelebrate,Ihavecometounderstandhim.Hisstruggleswithacademicandsociallearningaredeeplyembeddedinhishistory.Istrugglewithhowtoseparatehisschoollearningfromhislifelearning,though,quitehonestly,Idon’twantto,becausetodosowouldfailtohonourhisexperiences.

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How is students’ literacy development linked to teachers’ understanding of interculturalism?

How do teachers work with parents to enhance their intercultural understanding?

SuBTExTAllteachersontheteamusedobservation,questioningandpedagogicalconversationsas

the primary means of assessment. Each teacher also had another member of the team observe andworkwithherstudenttovalidateherfindings.TancyLazarsummedupthethinkingofthewholeteaminmakingthischoice:

Weneedtohaveconfidenceinourknowledgeofthecurricularoutcomes.Weneedtohave an understanding of where our students need to be, but we don’t all need to use the sametest.Weneedtousemoreauthenticassessments;standardizedtestsdon’tallowusto do that. Observation and discussion open up our diagnostic assessment to help us see where the student’s trouble is occurring and to give us a better understanding of what to workonnext.

As you read the teachers’ reflections, ask yourself what factors they considered in identifying students’ literacy needs.

Joan King, Grade 1/2 (Asha)WhenIbeganlookingatAshamoreclosely,Ibegantoposemorepointedquestions,tolook

morecloselyatherwritingandtoacceptlessatfacevalue.Idecidedtofocusfirstontheareaofwriting(specificallyjournalwriting)inwhichIcouldmoreaccuratelydeterminewhatAshawaslearningandhowshewasusingherknowledge,ratherthanfollowingpatternedorguid-edmaterial.Ihavealwaysfoundthisformofwritingtobethemostaccurateformofassess-mentbecauseitgivesmeatruerideaofhowastudentisthinkingandputtingideastogether.InSeptember,watchingherwrite,Ifeltprettyconfidentthatthiswasasolidstudent,wellonherwaytobecomingaverystrongstudent.Noworrieshere—orsoIthought.Naggingques-tions had been growing in my mind about some of my teaching practices. My inner voice questionedwhysomeoftheESLstudentsIsawinGrades1and2whoseemedverystrong—andpossiblynotinasmuchneedofESLsupportasotherstudents—seemedtobecomeweakerandtoevenbegintostrugglebyGrade4.Otherteacherstoldmethattheyhadobservedthesame phenomenon.

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Fromanassessmentpointofview,Asha’swritingissimple,concreteandliteral.Inoneexercise,studentshadtocreatewordsforawordlesspicturebook.Inherwork,Ashareferredtothecharactersinherbookassimply“thegirl”or“theothergirl,”or“theboy”or“theotherboy.”Becauseshemerelyreportedonthepictures,shewasunabletocreateastory.Iaskedherwhy she didn’t name the characters, but this notion appeared to be beyond her ability. This raisedalotofquestions.HowcouldIgethertoseethecharacters?Whydiditmakemoresenseforhertouseagenerictermsuchas“thegirl”insteadofarealname?Wasthisaculturalthing?IspokewithherparentstodiscoverifAshahasasenseofplayathome.Whatdoesshedo?Idiscoveredthateveryday,whenshegetshome,sheplaysschool,withherselfastheteacher and her dolls as the students, and, no, she never names her dolls.

Keele Kozak, Kindergarten (Abram)HowcanIknowanythingaboutAbramifwe’veneverhadaconversation?Aremy

observationsenough?Aretheyvalid?HowcouldIknowAbraminadifferentway?DoIneeddifferentsupports?Andwhatwouldthesesupportslooklike?Dotheyevenexist?

ThefirstquestionIdelveddeepintowas,HowcanIknowmoreaboutAbram?ThefirststepintheanswerwastodevelopaquickandeffectivewaytocommunicatewithAbram’sfamily on a daily basis, or as much as possible. Fortunately, Abram’s mother and older sister speakandwriteverygoodEnglishandwerewillingtowritebackandforthasoftenaspossible.ThisisoftennotthesituationformanyofmyESLstudents.Thefirsttwoweeksofcommunicationwerewonderful.IfinallyhadtheopportunitytolearnwhatAbramsaysabouthis day at school.

AtfirstIreadtomyselfthenotesfromAbram’smother,thenIbegantoinviteAbramtositwithmeandotherstudentsasIreadaloud.AbramoftensmiledwhileIwasreading.Ihopedthatsharingthiswiththeotherstudentswouldhelpthemknowhimbetterandhelphim realize that his contributions were very important to the class.

IalsobegansendinghometheworkthatAbramdidinclassandaskinghismothertorecordAbram’sdescriptionandinformationabouthisdrawingsandwork.Thisbecameabiweeklyroutine.

AsIcontinuedtoobserveandworkwithAbramintheclassroom,Iconstantlyaskedmyselfthreequestions:Whatdidheknow?Whatwastheproof?HadIdoneenoughtoacquirethisinformation?

Oneliteracygoalforkindergartenstudentsisforthemtobeabletonameeachletterandproducethelettersoundbytheendofthekindergartenyear.

Severaltimesayear,Idoaquickletter-andsound-recognitiontestwithallmystudents.Thishelpsmetargetthelettersthatstudentsdonotknowandidentifystudentswhoneedextrasupport.InSeptember,wheneverIpointedtoaletter,Abramjustsmiledatmeandsaidnothing.

InDecember,aftergoingthroughmostoftheletters,IaskedAbramtopointtothelettersheknew.Hebegantopointtoallthelettersinhisfirstname.Inamedthelettersashedidthis.NextIbegantogothroughthenamesofhisclassmates.“CanyoupointtotheletterthatHannah’snamestartswith?”Iaskedhim.AndhepointedtoH.AbramwasabletopointtosevenbeginninglettersasInamedhisclassmates.

Abram’sunderstandingandknowledgeofletterandsoundrecognitionbecamemoreclearasIcontinuedtofindwaysforhimtocommunicateintheclassroom.InMayIgavehimapaperwiththealphabetoutoforder.AsIcalledoutletters,alsooutoforder,AbrampointedtoeachletterInamed.Hewasabletoidentify24upper-caseand21lower-caseletters.

AfterthisinitialtestinDecember,IbegantolookverycloselyatAbram’sinteractionswithprintintheclassroom.Abramspendstimeeverydayworkingwithpuzzlesintheclassroom.One day, as he put together a complicated alphabet puzzle with pictures of an animal on each

21


letter,Isatwithhim,watchedandnamedletters.HewasabletosequencelettersfromAtoMwithfewmistakes.Andwhenhegotstuck,Iwouldsaythenameoftheanimalassociatedwiththeletter.Afterhearingtheanimalname,hiseyeswouldracequicklyoverthepuzzlepiecesandhewouldthenquicklypluckoutthecorrectpiece.ItwasapparentbytheendofthepuzzlethatheknewandrecognizedmorethanadozenanimalsbytheirEnglishnamesandmany letters.

DuringtheformativetestinginMayIfeltconfidentthattheinformationIacquiredthroughthisassessmentwasvalidandauthentic.InowwonderwhatAbram’sresponseswouldhavebeenatthebeginningoftheyearifIhadtestedthisway.

Tancy Lazar—Another Point of View on Abram Afterspending30minutesobservingAbram,IcouldalreadyrecognizethedifficultiesKeele

faceswhenitcomestoassessment.IntheshorttimeIwasthere,IcouldseethatwhilehedoesnotspeakawordofEnglishtoanyoneinschool,hedefinitelyunderstandsitwhenitisspokento him.

Ijoinedtheclassroomduringindependentchoicetime.Abramwasintheblockarea,andhecarriedaredblockaroundwithhimforawhileandplayedonhisown.However,whenitwastimetocleanup,hehelpedtoputthingsaway.Atonepoint,Iaskedhimtohelpanotherstudentputthepuzzleaway,andheimmediatelykneltdowntohelp.Heobviouslyunder-stoodwhatwasaskedofhim.IfollowedtheclasstoPE,whereIwatchedhimmovefromonesideofthecircletotheother,accordingtotheteacher’sinstructions.Whenitcametimeforhimtodecidewhatequipmenthewantedtoplaywith,heheadedstraightforthescooters.Whenhediscoveredthatotherstudentsweretherefirst,hewenttothebasketofbeanbagsandpile of hoops on the other side of the room. He wasn’t sure what to do with the beanbags, so Ijoinedhimandstartedtoplaycatchwithhim.Whenhetriedtothrowthebeanbagsintothehoop,Isaid,“Whydon’tyoustandinthehoopandthrowthebeanbagsbackintothebasket.”Iwasamazedwhenhedidsowithoutanyfurtherprompting.Again,heclearlyunderstoodexactlywhatIwasaskingfor.

IthinkKeelehasmadesomegreatdecisionsregardingassessment.InAbram’scase,obser-vationiskey.ItiswonderfulthatshehasdevelopedawaytocommunicatethroughAbram’sfamilyaboutwhatheislearningandthinkingaboutschool.

Formalassessmentjustdoesn’tworkwithstudentslikeAbram,butwhatKeeleisdoingisauthentic, and it meets Abram’s needs in the classroom in a way that honours him as a person. Thequestionssheisaskingareimportant,andtheanswerssheisreceivingwillbenefitherteaching practice and the many other students she will encounter.

Tancy Lazar, Grade 1/2 (Sam)AtfirstIstruggledtodeterminehowtobestmeetSam’sever-changingneeds.HowcouldI

diagnose his learning needs when the results might not be an accurate portrayal of his abilities inafewdays?IfIusedonlyonediagnosticmethodordidonlyoneassessmenteachterm,andthendecidedhowtoaddresshisneeds,ImightfindthatIhadoverestimatedhisability,andhewouldstrugglewiththetaskathand,causingbothofusfrustration.Ontheotherhand,ImightfindthatIhadunderestimatedhisabilityandchosenaninappropriateresponsetotheassessment,inwhichcasetheworkwouldbetooeasyforhim.

KnowingthatSam’scomprehensioncanbeunpredictable,IthoughtthatperhapsifIspentsometimeeachdayaskinghimquestionsandtalkingwithhimbeforesendinghimofftowork,Icouldassesshimquicklyanddeterminehisabilitiesthatparticularday.

ByaskingSambasicquestionsbeforehesetsofftowork,Icandeterminewhatleveloftheactivitywouldbemostbeneficialforhimtobeworkingonthatday.Ifitisadaywhenheis

22


struggling,wecanfocusonbasicfactsorsightwordsandreadingstrategies.Ifitisadaywhenhe needs minimal supports, we can go further and stretch his abilities. Some days he is able toworkindependentlyonanadaptationofthelesson;otherdaysheispartneredwithapeerwhoisathislevel(aGrade1or2student,dependingontheday)andwhocanremindhimofthedirectionsofthetask.Somedayssimplyunderstandingaquestionischallengeenoughforhim.

ByaskingSamquestionswhileheisworkingIgetabettersenseofwhathismisconceptionsareorwhatvitalpieceofinformationislacking.Usingthisinformation,Icanthendevelopnewlessons.Also,ifIquestionhimwhileheisworkingIcanseeifthetasksetbeforehimistoochallengingandchangeitaccordingly,sothathedoesnotgetfrustrated.Whenstudentsbecomefrustratedwithatask,theydon’tlearn,sowhycontinuetopushthem?

How do team teaching and coaching enhance our ability to diagnose and assess student learning?

Keele Kozak — Another Point of View on Sam DuringmybriefvisitinTancy’sclass,IhadtheopportunitytoobserveandtalkwithSam

duringmath.Theclasswasworkingatsimilartasks,aimedattheirspecificgradeandabil-ity level. Sam’s job was to roll two dice: one was the ones; the other with a small dice inside, which was the ones and tens spot. Then he would print the numbers in the perspective columns and add the two digits.

Samcompletedsevenquestionsduringmyobservation.Iinitiallythoughtthatheunder-stoodtheidea.However,Ihadtoaskhimfivequestionsbeforehecouldansweroneindepen-dentlyandcorrectly.Forthefirstfourquestions,heneededpromptsand,foreachanswer,hehidhishandsunderthetableashecountedonhisfingers.

DuringmyobservationIsawSam’sneedschange.Iplantoobservehimafewmoretimestoseehiscomplexities.AdditionalobservationwillallowmetoseeSamunderstandaconceptcompletelyonedayandnotthenext.

Neelam Mal, Grade 3/4 (George)WithGeorgetherewerefewworksamplesandon-topicconversationsearlyintheyear.

Georgespentagooddealoftimeavoidingwork,choosingtodrawinhisjournalinstead.Whenitcametimeforassessment,Ihadtodrawfromourfewon-topicconversations,alotofstream-of-consciousnessconversationsandobservationofhisbehaviour.

AfterthinkingcarefullyandwatchingGeorge,Ifounditdifficulttodeterminewhetherhewasn’tworkingbecausehecouldn’torbecausehedidn’twantto.OnedayIaskedhimwhyhehadn’tdoneanywritinginthejournallingtimewehadjustfinished.Helookedatmesquarelyandstated,“Oh,Idon’tknowhowtoreadorwrite.Ineverlearnedhowtodothatstuff.”Therewasnoshynessoruncertaintyinhisvoice,justacalmmatter-of-factness.SoIaskedhimto read through a few lists of basic sight words. He made it through about half of the words, relyingheavilyonsoundingoutwordsletterbyletter.IthenpulledoutasimplewordfromaGrade6list.Helookedatitcarefullyandreadaloud“trucker.”WhenIshowedhimthatthewordwasataGrade6level,hewasastounded.Theideathathe,aGrade3/4student,hadjustreadaGrade6wordastoundedhim!Suddenlytheexcusethathecouldn’tdoitsimplywas

“Oh, I don’t know

how to read or

write. I never

learned how to do

that stuff.”

There was

no shyness or

uncertainty in

his voice, just a

calm matter-of-

factness.

23


nottrue.Wetalkedatlengthabouthowhardthisbusinessoflearningis,howonemustworkallthetimedoingone’sverybest.Itoldhimthatifhewouldstarttrying,Iwouldbetheretohelphim;itwouldbeverydifficult,butifweworkedtogetheritwouldhappen.Wepromisedeachotherthatwithhardworkfrombothofus,hewouldbeabletoreadalloftheGrade1words by the end of the year.

Linda Belan — Another Point of View on GeorgeThroughthepastyearIhavehadthepleasureofwatchingGeorgedevelopasamember

of our school community. His outbursts have all but stopped, surfacing only when some uncertaintyentershislife,suchasalongbreakfromschoolorapendingmove.Henolongerworriesaboutfood,andheeventoldmeoncethathedidnotlikeacertainsnack.Hehasdevelopedarelationshipwithhispeers.Whereoncehehungoutwiththeadultsonsupervi-sion, he now enters into play with classmates and joins the soccer games.

IhavewatchedGeorgeenjoysuccessinlearning.Hehasbecomeareader.Oncehewouldsay,“Ican’treadorwrite.”Nowhehastheconfidencetowriteindependently,usinghisbest-guessspellingandthesoundsandstrategiesthatheknows.Heisalsowillingtosharehisreading ability with others.

IfeelthatschoolisasafeplaceforGeorge;itisaplacewherehefeelsacceptedbyboththeadults and his classmates. He has shown us this by disclosing some of the traumatic events in his life.

Georgeisareminderthatallourstudents’livesareintricateandcomplex,andthattheyareaffectedbyexperiencesoutsideofschoolthatneitherstudentsnorwecancontrol.Teacherscan only listen to students, accept them and, hopefully, give them the tools to become better learners.

IbelievethatitwasinthatbriefmomentofsharedsuccessthatGeorgesawforhimselfthepossibility of being a learner. After this discussion, George started trying harder. He would stillgetfrustratedandperiodicallycryoravoidhiswork—therewascertainlynoovernightchange.Butsuddenlytherewerewordsonhispage!Hewaswriting!Hewantedtositwithteachersandeducationassistantstoreadtogether.Itstruckmethatthekeytothischangewastheideaofrelationship.Forhim,theknowledgethatsomeonewasinvestingtime,energyandloveinhimwaswhatheneeded.Whenhesatindependently,littleworkhappened,butifsomeonewastheretoencourageandpush—wow!

InterventionsThe intense observations of and conversations with students and colleagues allowed teach-

ers to perform interventions that were responsive to students’ individual needs and helped studentssignificantlyimprovetheirlearningtoachievetheprescribedoutcomesfromthe program of studies.

Joan King, Grade 1/2 (Asha)Imakeitapointtoincludethenamesanddescriptionsofcharacterswhenreadingaloudor

in guided reading. Asha could not tell me why she preferred nameless characters, just that not naming them made more sense to her.

ItookthisquestionofnamestoasmallgroupofGrade5/6ESLstudents,becauseIwascuriousaboutAsha’sattitude.Iwassurprisedtodiscoverthattheycouldcompletelyidentifywithherreluctancetonamecharacters.Furtherdiscussion(andlearningonmypart)revealedthat to these students names in stories were unimportant because they were unfamiliar. Furthermore, pronouns such as his and her and so on do not help because these students did

24


not associate gender with names. Apparently, naming, which seems natural to most of us, is a strategy that needs to be taught.

Iwassurprisedtolearnthatteachersoftenmispronouncestudents’namesand,eventhough all students are encouraged to correct teachers’ pronunciation, they seldom do. They toldmetheyfeelthenametheteacherusesis“just[their]schoolname.”Insomeculturesstudents change their name and often go so far as to adopt a Canadian name because it is “easierforpeopletosayandbettertogetajobwhenolder.”Thus,IhadaChinesestudentnamedLing,whobecameMatthew,andanotherstudentnamedPang,whobecameThomas.Sometimes teachers in the same school pronounce students’ names differently. As a result, thestudentstoldme,theyoftendon’tpayattentiontonamesinastory.Ifthenameswerenotimportant enough for the teachers to pronounce correctly, how could they be important to the children?Thiswasdefinitelyarevelationtome,andasomewhatsadoneatthat,especiallysinceIdiscoveredthesameattitudesamongGrades3and4students.

Intheclassroom,IputAshabetweenastrongstudentandastudentwithverylimitedEnglish.AshahasbeenabletodrawfromthestrongerstudentandisquicktohelpthenewerESLstudent,becausesheseemstoneedtoexplainand“teach.”Ihaveheardherexplaintotheweakerstudentthatcharactershavenames.Thisisratherinteresting,becauseAshacontinuestoinsistthatsaying“thegirl”iseasierforherinherwriting.

Keele Kozak, Kindergarten (Abram)As the year progressed my focus shifted from hoping and assuming that Abram would

begintospeaktogivinghimeverychancetocommunicateinhisownway.SpeakingintheschoolenvironmentissimplynotforAbramatthemoment.AndasthestudentsandIgavehim more opportunities to communicate, he wanted to do so more often, but his communica-tionwasnotverbal.Forexample,onafieldtripinMaytheclasslearnedsignsfordifferenttypesofnestsfoundattheInglewoodBirdSanctuary.Duringourmanynaturehikesandout-doorobservationsAbramwouldpointtoatreeandmakethesignforthetypeofnesthesaw(cup,roof,groundandsoon).Hewasabletocommunicatethisinformationnotonlytomebutalso to the volunteer naturalists and his classmates.

Neelam Mal, Grade 3/4 (George)ThebiggestroadblocktoGeorge’sacademicsuccesshasbeenhisfeelingsofinsecurity.His

beliefthathewillbemovedtoanotherschoolinanotherneighbourhoodhasmadeitdifficultforhimtoinvestinanyoneplace.CecilSwansonisthefirstschoolwhereGeorgehasspent

one full year. Having the time to let his guard down and connect to this space has changed his life. He has been able to build friendships, see himself as a valued member of a community, and feel love from the children and adults at Cecil Swanson.

George’s enhanced feeling of being safe has helped him develop a sense ofcontrolinhislife,andasenseofself-efficacyandself-esteem;heisnowabletoviewhimselfasacapablelearner.Hehastakenhugerisksbylettinghimselfconnectwithpeopleatthisschool.Takingthatriskhasallowedhimtotakeotherrisks,bothemotionalandacademic.Beforehewasevenabletothinkabouthislearning,herequiredconsiderationofhisbasicsocialneeds.Itbecamemyjobashisteachertoattendtothosebasicneeds,togivehimthe compassion and love he so desperately needed before he could begin to

think—orcare—aboutreadingandwritingandmath.OnceGeorgerealizedthathewascaredfor,Iwasabletopushhimfurtherinhislearning.Hehascometoknowthatthelovehegetsisunconditional,andthoughtheexpectationsarehigh,theyareachievable.

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While student emotional engagement is one of the strongest predictors of long-term success in learning, how effective are schools in assessing and focusing on enhancing student affect?

RETExTOutcomes and What We Have Learned

This project has resulted in positive learning outcomes for both the teachers and students involved.

Joan King, Grade 1/2 (Asha)AtthebeginningofFebruary,Ashabegantowriteclassmates’namesinherjournal.Instead

ofconsistentlywriting,forexample,“Isawmyfriendsridetheirbikesontheroad,”shewouldwrite,“IsawSardarandTimonbikes.”ByMarch,Ashawaswellabletousecharacternameswhenretellingstoriesinwrittenformat.Shecontinues,however,toprefer“thegirl”whenwritingherownstories,butdoesacknowledgethatthesegirlscouldhavenames.Whenshedoesusenames,sheisbeginningtoapplytheappropriatepronouns.Sheisstartingtoextendherwriting,anditwillbeinterestingtoseeif,asherwritingbecomesmorecomplex,itwillbecome less generic.

AlthoughthisisanexampleofaverysmallpartofAsha’slearningandmyownassessment,ithasgivenmeawindowintooneofthegapsinlearningwithourESLstudents.Ihavealsodiscoveredtherearesimilargapsfornon-ESLstudents.Iwillbepayingmoreattentiontothisarea.

IhadthechancetoobserveAshaduringamathclass(Isharethisclasswithamathteach-er).Thestudentsweredoing3-Dshapes;first,theyconstructedshapeswithtoothpicksandmarshmallows,andthentheysketchedandlabelledtheminmathsketchbooks.Ashapatientlytalkedtomeaboutthefaces:“Notlikemyfacethatcansmile.It’sanotherkindofface.”Sheearnestly drew the cube she had made, but her drawing was always short two marshmallows. Ilistenedtoherworkingthroughtheproblem,drawingandredrawing.TogetherwewentuptotheboardtolookathowMissScobiehaddrawnhercube.Ashastudiedit,erased,redrewandsaid,“NowIknowwhattodo,”butshewasstilltwomarshmallowsshortinherdrawing.Finallysheshookherhead,lookedatthedrawingandassertedthatshewasconfidentthatherdrawingwasrightandshewouldjustleaveitlikethat.Ilaughedandagreedwithherwhensheobservedthat“thisisjustlikewhenmystorieshavetohavenames,MrsKing.”

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Keele Kozak, Kindergarten (Abram)Finding new ways to communicate has had a positive impact on Abram’s learning, my own

learning and the learning of students in our class. He has changed from an involved student to a trulyengagedone.TheclasshasshiftedfromsimplyhopingthatAbramwouldbegintospeaktogiving him venues to communicate. Abram’s classmates unconsciously help him communicate onadailybasis,andIhaveacquiredmanymorestrategiestomeaningfullyassessthelearningofEnglishlanguagelearnersinkindergarten.

Tancy Lazar, Grade 1/2 (Sam)Samhasmadeprogressthisyear.InFebruaryhewasabletoreadalevel8ontheDRAon

gooddays.Onanunfocused,moredifficultday,hewasabletoreadalevel6,whichhehadneverbeenabletodopreviously.Whenwefirstbegantheprogram,hewasreadingbelowlevel3.Heisdemonstratinganabilitytoskipcountto100byfivesandtens,regardlessofthekindofdayheishaving.Heisdemonstratingamorereliableunderstandingofbasicaddi-tionandcananswerquestionsto18withareasonableamountofaccuracy.Sammadeenoughprogressinsecondtermtoplacehiminthelow-averageGrade1expectationsfortheterm.

BycontinuingtoassesshisneedseachdaysothatIcanappropriatelychallengehim,IhopethatSamwillcontinuetodevelophisunderstandingwithoutbecominganxiousand frustrated, and that diagnosing his needs on a continuous basis will continue the progress he is makinginreading,writingandmath.

This project has allowed me to focus on one student and improve my assessment practices. Ithashelpedmerealizehowimportantitistoassesssomestudents’learningneedsdailytobest meet their learning needs.

Basingmyassessmentandexpectationsonthecurriculumoutcomesismostreliable.Ihavetorememberthatifastudentstrugglesandisbehindmorethanayear,itwilltakehimorhermorethanayeartocatchup;teacherssimplyhavetopersevere.Thegoalisnottomakeallstudentsthesame;thegoalistomakesurethateachindividualstudentislearningandprogressingatanappropriatepace.Wemustchallengestudents,butnotfrustratethemtothepoint that they cannot learn anything.

Neelam Mal, Grade 3/4 (George)Inthepastfewmonths,Georgehasmaderemarkablegrowthasastudent.Hehasdevel-

opedtrueskillinsketchinganddrawingpicturesandsymbolstoconveyhisunderstanding.He has developed a stronger sense of basic facts in addition and subtraction and is able to articulateifanswersmakesense.Buthehasmadethemoststridesinreading.InMarchhewasabletoreadapproximately75percentoftheGrade1sightwordsconsistently.Allofthesesuccesseshaveenormouslyincreasedhisself-confidence.Heisproudofhimself.Hehasexperiencedfirst-handthesuccessthatflowsfrommakingatrueeffort.Heknowsnowthattherearethingsheisgoodat;thisknowledgemakesallofhisdifficultiesinlifelesspainful.Also,heunderstandsthatwhenwearedissatisfiedwithhisbehaviourandhischoices,itdoesnot change how we feel about him.

George has taught me that people’s basic physical and social needs must be met before they canlearn.Ifhisneedforcompassionandpatiencehadnotbeenmet,IamcertainthatGeorgewouldnotbewhereheistoday.Nowhisneedsmustcontinuetobemetforhimtocontinuesucceeding.

ProfessionallyIhavelearnedthatinordertounderstandchildren’slearningIneedtounderstandthemaswholeandcomplexhumanbeings.Icannotclaimtoknowthemiftheyarecompartmentalizedandoversimplified.Tohonourtheirlivesandtheirlearning,Ineedtospendtimeandenergytolearnfromthemandaboutthem.Takingthetimetotrulyconnectwith all of these children is paramount.

The goal is

not to make

all students

the same; the

goal is to make

sure that each

individual

student is

learning and

progressing at

an appropriate

pace. We must

challenge

students, but not

frustrate them

to the point that

they cannot

learn anything.

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Standardized tests give us only a glimpse of student learning and understanding; it is muchtooeasytogiveintothefalsesecurityof“knowing”childrenfromthesemeasures.Trueassessmentandknowingaremuchmoredifficultandcomplicated,andrequirecareful observation, meaningful conversation and continual revision.

Where Do We Go from Here?Joan King, Grade 1/2 (Asha)

IwonderifAshawillbeabletoidentifywithcharactersandtherebybecomeengagedinreading.Ihopethatreadingwillnotbecomemechanicalforher,butinsteadwillbecomeameaningfullifelongskillthatbringsherenjoymentandpersonalenrichment.Ialreadyseeadifference in the older ESL students after our discussion about the naming of characters. One Grade6student,whohasbeeninCanadaforonlytwoyears,nowasksifagivennameisagirl’snameoraboy’sname.OurdiscussionsinoneoftheGrade3/4classesarenolongerjusta retelling of details but have become as much about the characters as about the story.

Keele Kozak, Kindergarten (Abram)Astheendoftheyearnears,IhavebeenwonderingwhatwillhappennextyearforAbram

andwhatsupportandresourcesIcouldoffertohisfamilyforthesummer.Idecidedto encourage a play date at his home, hoping that in this more comfortable environment he might speaktoagoodfriendfromschool.Unfortunately,Abram’sfamilyismoving,althoughtheyhavedecidedtokeephiminourschooluntiltheendoftheyear.Becauseofthis,theplaydatewithafriendwillnothappen,andIamleftwonderinghowAbramwilladjusttoanewschoolandnewfriendsinthefall.Ihaveleftanoteforhisnextteachertocontactme.Iwouldlovetobe able to have a conversation with the teacher about the progress Abram made this year and share information about his wonderful spirit.

Tancy Lazar, Grade 1/2 (Sam)Samhasmadegreatstridesindevelopingthebasicskillsastudentrequirestolearn.Sam

willgetanewteacheratourschoolinthefall,andhisnewteachermustknowaboutSam’sstrugglesintheclassroom.HeisenteringGrade3withsomeoftheskillsofaGrade1andwillrequireadditionalsupports.Sam’snewteacherwillneedtofollowupwiththepediatri-cianandpsychologist,andcontinuemonitoringhislearningdifficultiesandensurethathegetsthesupportsheneeds.Whoeverhisnewteacheris,IknowthatSamwillbesupportedinhislearningendeavours.Iwillarrangeameetingwiththenewteachertooutlinesomeofthestrategies that have been successful this year, such as pairing Sam up with another student in theclassroomanddailyquickassessments.SuchameetingwillbebeneficialtobothSamandthe new teacher.

Neelam Mal, Grade 3/4 (George)George has certainly started down the road to his success. He has made real friends and

isbeginningtomakemeaningfulconnectionsinhislearning.GeorgewilllikelygotoanewschoolnextSeptember.Hisanxietyisgrowingassummerholidaysapproach;hecanfeelthatchangeiscoming.Iknowthatthisyearhasgivenhimasenseofwhohecanbe.Heismoreconfident,morecapableandhappier.Hetellsusthatwhenthingsarehardorwhenhefeelssad,heknowswhattodo—thinkofthepeoplewholovehim,anddohisbest.Iknowthatwhenhemovesonnextyearhewillgowiththetoolsandresourcesheneedstobesuccessful.Hehasresilience.Hehasadesiretoworkhard.Hewilldowell.

It is important

to develop

assessment and

teaching methods

that do not

disenfranchise

those whose

strength lies in

their difference

rather than

their sameness.

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SummaryWehavedescribedinsomedetailourworkwithfourstudents:whotheyare;howwe

assessedtheirlearningneeds;programmodificationsthatwemadebasedonourassessments;andpositivechangesthatresultedfromourworktogether.Thereadermightthinkthatthesechildrenreceivedspecialattentionorthatitisnotpossibletolookateachchildinsuchdepth.Onthecontrary,thiskindofknowledgeistheessenceofwhatitmeanstobeaprofessionalteacherinacomplexlearningenvironment.

These strategies are ones we use on a daily basis to assess the learning of the diverse childrenwhoattendCecilSwansonSchool.Thesewaysofworkingprovideuswiththede-tailedandspecificknowledgeweneedtodoourworkandenhancethelearningofeverychildweworkwith.

Theknowledge,creativityandprofessionalinsightofteachersarethemostpowerfulforcesin improving student learning. The teacher’s ability to observe and to conduct pedagogical conversationswithchildrenproducesunderstandingthatfarexceedsthatgeneratedbyanynumber of standardized tests. Listen to children and help them understand their own learn-ing.Ifhighstandardsforallaretobecomeareality,weneedtounderstandthestrengthsandknowledgeofourdiverselearners.Wewillcontinuetopursuewaystorefineanddeepenourknowledgeofthechildrenweteach.Itisimportanttodevelopassessmentandteaching methods that do not disenfranchise those whose strength lies in their difference rather than their sameness.

The children who come through the doors of Cecil Swanson School each day are the future of Calgary, of Alberta, of Canada, of the world. Their strengths are the strengths we most need nowandinthefuture.Theirearlyliteracydevelopment(inreading,writingandmathemat-ics)providesafoundationforfuturelearning.Infosteringandassessingtheirgrowth,wemustcaptureandmakeuseofthestrengthstheybringtolearning.Thetoolsthatweusetoassessmiddle-class,monocultural,Canadian-born,English-speakingchildrendonotapplytoallstudents.Suchtoolslookatchildrenandseektodefinethembydefiningtheirdiffer-ences,whichthenbecomedeficiencies.Thetoolsofprofessionalobservationandpedagogical conversations with children must be given validity and importance, because they identify stu-dents’ strengths and provide teachers with information that helps multicultural, multilingual childrentoexcel.Wecannot,nordowewantto,turnadiversepopulationofchildrenintomiddle-classwhitechildren.

A major goal of public education is to teach children to value and welcome diversity and difference,andtohonourtheprinciplesofdemocracy.Inorderforthisgoaltoberealizedata school level, school boards and the provincial government must be aware of and constantly reaffirmthisgoal.Trulyvaluingstudentdiversityinvolvesmorethansuperficialdiscussionsabout feasts and festivals; it involves a careful analysis of our daily practices, school directives and provincial policies.

Current estimates suggest that 1,000–1,500 new students will arrive in Alberta each month in the coming years. How can schools build networks of assessment leaders to meet the needs of this growing and diverse student population?

29


Bassano SchoolBassano School

Grasslands School Division

30


PRETExT

Bassano Green Team

JeneenArmstrongLinda Holt Lynn McLellanJoanneMedeirosFrieda MennesCindy SchafferJenniferSchmidt

IncooperationwithLindaAndres(GrasslandsAlbertaInitiativeforSchoolImprovement[AISI]coordinator)

TheGreenTeamispartofaschool-basedprofessionallearningcommunity(PLC)thatincludesallK–3teachersatBassanoSchool.Thisprojectwasseenasachancefortheteammemberstoworkwithoneanother(andperhapswithcolleaguesinparticipatingschools)todeterminehowtodefineassessment,effectivelyassessstudentlearning,andconsiderwhata balanced approach to assessment consists of. At the outset, the team met several times to considereachoftheirrolesinwhattheyenvisionedasacollaborativeinquiryandtoclarifytheiractionresearchquestion:How can collaborative inquiry focused on the assessment of early liter-acy and numeracy improve student learning? Acollaborativeinquiryapproachisanaturalfortheteam,whichhasbeencohesive,flexibleandself-contained,andwhoseteacherssharesimilarphilosophical beliefs about education.

The Bassano Green Team (left to right): Linda Holt, Jennifer Schmidt, Cindy Schaffer, Jeneen Armstrong, Linda Andres and Lynn McLellan

31


Overthecourseoftheeight-monthproject,uncertaintyandfrustrationsoccasionallyarose.Thoughassessmentmeansgivingstudentsatargettoshootfor,manytimesitwaslikeshoot-ingarrowsintothedarkandhopingtohitatarget.Intheendtheteamaffirmedthatassess-ment is driven by care for students and their learning. The openness with which the members oftheteamsharedtheirideasrevealedthatteachersareassessingallthetimeandmaking adjustments every day to better address their students’ needs.

Our SchoolBassanoSchoolisaK–12schoollocatedinthesmalltownofBassano(population368),

withintheGrasslandsPublicSchoolDistrict.Itistheonlyschoolinthesmalltown.

Our StudentsApproximately25percentoftheschool’sstudentstraveltoBassanofromtheSiksika

Nationreserve,justwestofthetown.About55percentofstudentsarebusedtotheschool.

Our TeachersBassanoSchoolhas24teachers.Inaddition,theschoolhas2.5teacherassistantswhowork

withthekindergartengroup,and2.5teacherassistantswhoworkwiththeGrades1–3classes.The number of teaching assistants has decreased over the past few years.

Theteammembersarepartofaschool-basedprofessionallearningcommunity(PLC),whichincludesallDivisionIteachersandwhichisknownas“TheGreenTeam.”

The Green Team was formed four years ago, when a Grasslands program introduced and mandatedweeklyPLCworkinallschools.ThisPLCwasmadepossiblewhenthedivisiongaveteacherslieudaysfortheirtimespentafterschoolinPLCs.StaffinginDivisionIhasremainedthesameforthepastfiveyears,andthisconsistencyhascontributedtotheefficacyoftheGreenTeamPLC.Thegroupiscohesive,flexibleandself-contained,andmemberssharesimilar philosophical beliefs about education. The group members are collaborative; they knowandsupporteachother,andtheygetthingsdone.

ThefollowingsupportsforDivisionIstudentshavebeenemployed:speechandlanguageassistance from the health unit, occupational therapy aid for ECS students, and high school specialprojectassistantsintheclassrooms.TransitionmeetingsforECSstudentstakeplaceinMayandJune.AStudentSupportServicesteammeetsweeklytoinvestigateindividualstu-dent concerns and address them through the school’s pyramid of intervention strategies.

Followingaresomeoftheliteracy-focusedprogramsthattheGreenTeamhasimplementedwithin the past four years:

• Accelerated Reading Program. This program was implemented after investigating reading comprehensionstrategiesthroughaschool-basedCycleTwoAlbertaInitiativeforSchoolImprovement(AISI)project.HugegainsinreadingcomprehensionhavebeenachievedthroughtheAcceleratedReadingProgram.TheAISIprojecthasfuelledcontinuedliteracyworkwithintheschoolandcommunity.

• Joanne Moore, Spalding and Sound Connections language arts programs.

• Math for Success.TheGreenTeamhostedaworkshopwithinstructorDarleneKusick,andtheprogramisnowbeingusedinallDivisionIclassrooms.Studentachievementhasimproved.

The group

is cohesive,

flexible and

self-contained,

and members

share similar

philosophical

beliefs about

education.

The group

members are

collaborative;

they know and

support each

other, and they

get things done.

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• Math and Literacy Bags. Sharing activities for use at home with families is a project that the Green Team is implementing with help from the Friends of Bassano School Society.

• Early Literacy.ThisisasuccessfulprogramthatBassanoSchoolhascontinuedforGrades1and2students.

• Michelle Borba’s Character Education program. This program is supplemented with Kelso’sChoiceactivities.

ConTExT

Our Research QuestionThisprojectwasseenasachanceforthemembersoftheGreenTeamtoworkwithother

schooldistrictstodeterminehowtodefineassessment,effectivelyassessstudentlearningandconsiderwhatabalancedapproachtoassessmentconsistsof.Inthefall,membersoftheGreenTeammetseveraltimestoclarifytheirresearchquestionandtherolesofallteammembers.Theactionresearchquestionwas:How can collaborative inquiry focused on the assessment of early literacy and numeracy improve student learning?

Case Study StudentsThe research team decided that two or three target students would be selected from each

homeroom.ItwassuggestedthatatleastoneFirstNationsstudentbeincludedforeachgradebecauseFirstNationsstudentsmakeupalargepercentageofthestudentbody.

Overall, the students chosen were low achieving or had uneven academic success. Some hadbehaviouralissues,andmanyshowedalackofself-esteemanddoubtintheirabilitytolearn.Inaddition,thetargetedstudentsdemonstratedfewpersonalstrategiesforsuccess,displayedminimalself-confidenceandachievedinconsistentresults.Somehadlittlehomesupport. Because classroom observation of students is an assessment practice that teachers do constantly, there was nothing out of the ordinary about this research. Therefore, neither the students chosen for this study nor their parents were aware that the study was being conducted.

MembersoftheGreenTeamlookedattheareasofbehaviour,literacyornumeracywhenobservingthetargetedstudents.Initiallytheyidentifiedtheirconcernsandfocuseddiscus-sionsoninterventionstrategiesduringtheweeklyPLCtimes.Thefinalstepsoftheproject included determining whether the strategies they had implemented had made a difference.

Althoughtheresearchprojectinvolved12targetedstudents,wehavechosentoreporton5ofthose12whoreactedmostpositivelytothestrategies.

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As you read each teacher’s reflections at the outset of the project, consider how case study students were selected, literacy needs identified and learning goals set.

Jenn Schmidt, Kindergarten (Carrie)IchoseCarriebecausesheisstruggling.Shelacksconfidenceinherownabilities,doesnot

seeherselfasalearner,andhasdifficultywithalphabetandnumberrecognition.Nevertheless,sheisadelightfulstudentandahardworker.Iknowthatwecanboostherskillswiththerightstrategies and encouragement.

Carrieisinhersecondyearofkindergartenandhaslimitedpreschoolskills.Shehasalengthybusridetoandfromschool,andherattendanceissporadic.Sheisweakinbothfinemotorskillsandverbalskills.Herverbalcommunicationskillsarestilllimited.Whenwork-ingwithapartner,shetendstopickamoredominantclassmatetotalkforher.Ibelievethat,withtheinterventionswehaveinplaceaswellasthefive-day-a-weekprogramwewereabletoofferher,Carriewillreceivetheboostsheneedstodevelopskillsthatwillbethefoundationfor future success in school.

My goals for Carrie are that she will be able to

• identifymostalphabetsounds,• begintoidentifybeginninglettersounds,• identifyandgeneraterhymingwords,• makeconnectionsbetweenpicturesandprint,• identifythenumbers1to20,• countconfidentlyfrom1to20and• seeherselfasacapableandconfidentstudent.

Baseline data—October 2006

Skill Score

Alphabetrecognition—upper 4/8

Alphabetrecognition—lower 3/8

Sound recognition 3/8

Numberrecognition 5/5

Creates sets 4/5

Rhyme Noconcept

OverthepastfewyearsIhavebeenworkingondevelopingbetterstrategiesforliteracydevelopmentandassessment.Ihaveconcentratedonalphabetskillsandbookknowledgeasafoundationforimprovingreadingandcomprehensioningradesbeyondkindergarten.Ihavedonethisbyhavingthechildrenstudyaletteraweekandbyintegratingseveralmodesof learning, including songs, crafts, stories, printing and phonics activities, into the language program.Ihavebeenworkingatintegratingmorerhymingandsyllabication.Ihaveseenanimprovement in how much Carrie retains with respect to alphabet and number recognition as well as alphabet sounds.

34


Ialsodevelopedliteracybagsformathandlanguagethatstudentstakehomeonarotationalbasis.Eachbagcontainsabookandthreeorfouractivitiesthatrelatetothebook.Carrielovestheseliteracybags,andweusethemforone-on-oneworkwithherattheschool.

Iconstantlyprovidefeedbacktostudentsonhowtheyaredoingandhowtoimprove.Iwouldliketogetthestudentstoreflectmoreontheirownworksothattheycanrecognizegrowthandsetgoals.Carriedoesnothavetheconfidencetoreflectonherownwork,soIensurethatIcelebratehersuccesses.

Cindy Schaffer, Grade 1 (Jack)IchoseJackbecausehestruggleswithhisreadingandwritingskills,andhasvery

little support or help from home with his reading. He rarely does his home reading, and hestruggleswithhislettersoundsanddecodingskills.Hehasfewstrategiesforreadingcomprehension.

Jackhasalongbusridefromhishomeeveryday.Heisthethirdchildinafamilyoffourboysandoftenhasextendedfamilymemberslivingathishome.TherearemanydayswhenJackdoesnothaveasnackorevenverymuchforlunch.Jackisahard-workingstudent,butheneedsalotofassistance.Heisveryshyandquiet,andrarelyparticipatesinclassdiscussions.Jackhaslowself-confidenceanddoesnotthinkofhimselfasareader.

Jackhasfrequentlybeenabsentthroughouttheschoolyearandhashaddifficultystayingcaught up. He needs a regular schedule to remain focused.

MygoalsforJackarethathewillbeableto

• learnallhislettersoundsandsightwords,

• soundoutandblendwordstogetherwhenreading,

• writeaseriesofsentencesusingproperwordspacingandconventions,

• soundoutwordswhenprinting,

• buildindependenceandconfidence,and

• participateinclassdiscussion.

Baseline data—October 2006

Skill Score

Alphabetrecognition—sound 26/35

Colour words and sight words 29/44

Joanne Medeiros, Grade 2 (Charlie)Charlieliveswithhisfather,motherandolderbrother.Hisparentsbothworkattheir

family-ownedbusiness.Charlieoftenspendstimeplayingonthecomputerattheofficewhilehismomtendstobusiness.Inthefall,hisfamilytookatrip,andhemissed10fulldaysofschool.Hestruggledwithreadingandspellingformostofthesixweeksfollowinghistrip.Ittooksomeextraworkatschoolandhometogethimcaughtup.However,aftertheChristmasbreak,hebegantoshowmoremotivationandconfidenceinhisreading.

Duringinitialscreening,hestruggledwithmanyoftheDolchGrade1sightwordsandwasunwillingtotryreadingunfamiliartexts.Charliedemonstratedveryfewreadingstrategiesbecausehewasunwillingtoattemptnewactivities.HehaddifficultycompletingtheSTARcomputer-generatedreadingtestindependently,whichmadeitdifficulttogetanaccuratereading comprehension score. After he did complete it, he scored well below grade level.

35


Charlie’ssightwordknowledgewasveryweak.Heguessedatmanywordswhenreading,anddidnottrytomakemeaningofthetext.Hebecamefrustrated,gaveupeasilyorrefusedto even attempt to read.

My goals for Charlie are that he will be able to

• increasehisself-confidencethroughawillingnessanddesiretoread;

• improvehisreadingleveltoreadbooksinAcceleratedReadingwithinatwo-monthrangeofwhereheisinschool(forexample,readingbookswithazoneofproximaldevelopmentof2.6andscoringatleast80percentonthecomputertest);

• learnandapplydecodingskills;

• learnandapplycomprehensionstrategiessuchaspredictingandanalyzing;

• increasehisreadingrateandfluencyandbecomeamoreconfidentreader;

• homereadatleastfivenightsaweek,andpractisetheDolchsightwordsathomeandatschool with a high school special project student;

• choosetoreadandseehimselfasareader;and

• beabletoread100percentoftheDolchGrade2listwordswith90percentaccuracy.

Baseline data—end of October and beginning of November 2006

Test Score

Grade1Dolchsightwordlist 46%

STARreadingtest(comprehension) 0.9gradeequivalent(GE)

BecausetheGrade2groupwasverylarge,itwassplitforhalftheday.However,theschoolreceivedmorefundingbecauseofthelargenumberofstudents,andtheGrade2classwassplitfor60percentofthetime.Earlyintheyear,threestudentsmoved,whichleftuswithasmallgroupof12studentsinourlanguageartsclass.Thatnumberhasremainedconstant.Amongthisgroupof12aresomeconfidentreaderswhoworkwellbothindependentlyandingroups.These12studentsremaininthesmallclassgroupingformathematics,languageartsandscience;theyareinalargergroupof24fortheothersubjects.Whenwedecidedonthesplit,wekeptmostofthehigh-needsstudentstogetherwithaboutone-thirdofthemorecapablestudents.Wefeltthatthefewerdisruptionstherewereforthestrugglingstudents,thebetter.

Charlieisdefinitelyinthebottomquarteroftheclass;heisnotreadingatgradelevelandisbeginningtogetfrustrated.Nevertheless,Charlieisbrightandhasagoodhomelife;hehasthe potential to become a successful student. Once he has some strategies in place, he will feel moreconfidentaboutattemptingnewtasks.

Linda Holt, Grade 3 (Ben)IteachsomeoftheGrades3sinapulloutliteracyclassforone40-minuteperiodperday.I

alsoteachareaderstheatreclasstothewholeGrade3class,fromwhichIchoseBen.Hehaspoordecodingskillsandfewstrategiesforreadingtext,andbecauseheisunabletoarticulateverywell,hisself-esteemisplummeting.Thoughheworkshard,heisrelyingonguessworkto complete assignments. His comprehension has been steadily declining as the picture cues disappearinthetext.Heisastudentatrisk.

Benliveswithhismother,stepfatherandthreeyoungersiblings.Hisstepfatherworks sporadically, and his mother, who is unable to read, stays home with the children. His mother statesthatBendoesnotlikeschool.

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Bendoesnotthinkofhimselfasareader.Heneedsone-on-oneattentiontohelphimfocusontext.Hisconstantmovementandimpulsivecallingoutandnoisemakinginterferewithhislearning.Althoughcapableofdecodingmostsounds,herarelyuseshisknowledgeinanindependentsetting.Hissight-wordknowledgeisalsoveryweak.

Ben’sinabilitytoreadisaffectinghisself-esteem,andwearebeginningtoseesomenegativebehaviourasaresult.Hissister,whoisinGrade2,readsbetterthanhedoes;hisbrother,whoisinkindergarten,isbeginningtolearnhislettersounds.SoBen’sweaknessesareparticularlyevident.Itiscrucialthatwegivehimthestrategiestolearnhowtolearn.Heisdesperateto“keepupwithhisfriends.”

My goals for Ben are that he will

• increasehisself-esteem,

• learnstrategiestoimprovebothoralreadingandcomprehensionscores,and

• showusthathecantakesomeownershipofhislearning.

Baseline data—end of October and beginning of November 2006

Test Score

WIAT-ll*(wordreading) 1.9GE

WIAT-ll(readingcomprehension) <1.0GE

WIAT-ll(spelling) 1.9GE

WIAT-ll(pseudoworddecoding) 2.1GE

STARreadingtest(comprehension) 1.1GE

*WechslerIndividualAchievementTest(WIATII—TeacherEdition)

Jeneen Armstrong, Grade 3 (Phillip) PhillipisatwininGrade3;hisbrotherisalsoinmyclass.Hecomesfromatwo-parent

family.Hisfatherworksbutseemstohavedifficultyholdingdownajobforlong.Whenheisworking,heisoftengoneforextendedperiodsand,accordingtoPhillip’smother,heisverydisruptivetothehomeroutinewhenhereturnshome.ThefatherisahockeyfanaticandbelievesthathissonswillbeNHLplayers.Becausethefatherfeelsthatschoolisnotaprior-ity,Phillipdoesnotseeitthatwayeither,especiallyduringhockeyseason.Phillipisahardworkerandiseagertolearn,buthehasverylowself-esteemwhenitcomestoschoolandiseasilyfrustrated.Whenheisfrustrated,hecompletelyshutsdown.Phillipstruggleswithorganizationandcanbeeasilydistracted,andwhenhedoesn’tknowwhatisgoingonaroundhim he becomes flustered.

IwouldliketohelpPhillipdevelopastrongunderstandingofnumbers.Iamgoingtofocusonstrengtheninghisnumbersensetoseeifthathelpshiminotherareasofmath.Ihopethatthroughthisprocesshewilldevelopbasicmathskillsand,eventually,afirmerunderstandingofmathasawhole.Iwouldliketomakemathmoremeaningfulandusefultohim.

Ifeelthatdevelopingnumbersenseisessentialforthethoroughunderstandingneededforallmathconcepts.Bynumbersense,Imeanone’sabilitytorecognizenumbers,identifytheirrelativevaluesandunderstandhowtousethemindifferentways(forexample,measur-ing,countingorestimating).Numbersenseisthebuildingblockoffurthermathematics,anda student’s number sense must be strong for that student to perform. Simply put, without numbersense,mathdoesnotmakesense.Thatmanystudentsseemtolacknumbersenseprompted me to choose this as my main target in the project.

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IwillusegamesandliteraturetostrengthenPhillip’smathskills.Hopefully,hisskillswillstrengtheninamuchlessthreateningenvironment,andthiswillbuildhisself-esteemandconfidence.AshisnumbersenseimprovesIhopethathewillmorethoroughlyunderstandallmath concepts.

MygoalforPhillipisthathewilldevelopnumbersense.

Baseline data

Test/Date Result

WIAT-11/November2006

—Mathreasoning 2.9GE

—Numericaloperations 1.9GE

MathTest2/October2006 6.5/16

How do you go about putting learning first?

What process do you use to identify the literacy needs of students?

What are some of the challenges you face in mediating external (school, district, provincial) demands and student learning needs?

SuBTExT

As you read each teacher’s reflections, ask yourself what factors they considered in identifying students’ literacy needs.

Jenn Schmidt, Kindergarten (Carrie)IwonderifIamdoingenoughtobuildtheliteracyandnumeracyfoundationthatmy

studentsrequiretobesuccessfullearners.ArethestrategiesappropriateforCarrie’slearningstyle?Aretheextraclasstimeandincreasedimmersioninliteracyhelpingherorover-whelming her?

Iwanttoassessmystudents’learninginawaythatisaccurate,fairandinformal.

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What Am I Doing to Achieve My Goals for Carrie?CurrentlyIhaveahighschoolspecialprojectstudentfortwoperiodseachmorningwho

workswithCarrieonsharedreading,colourrecognition,top/bottom,left/right,beginninglettersound,andspellingandprintingherfirstandlastname.Carrieexcelsduringtheseone-on-onesessions.BylateOctober,Carriewasspellingandprintingherfirstname;bylateJanuary,shewasprintingherlastnameaswell.

March 2007 assessment

Skill Score Score in October 2006

Alphabetrecognition—upper 22/26 4/8

Alphabetrecognition—lower 20/26 3/8

Alphabetrecognition—sound 23/26 3/8

Numberrecognition(1–10) 10/10 n/a

One-to-onecorrespondence Yes n/a

Rhyme—recognitionandnaming 4/6 no concept

IhavehadmyassistantuseSoundConnectionswithCarrieforfiveminuteseachdaytoreviewletternamesandsounds.Iseeamuchmoreconfidentchildwhoisabletoanswerquestionsaboutletternamesandsounds.

Ihaveattendedaworkshoponusingliteracycentrestoenhancereadingandwritingpro-gramsforK–3.IhavealsobeenworkingondevelopingawritingrubricforGrade1inmyAISIdistrictwideGrade1PLC.Ihaveplayedaliteracyormathgameeverydaywiththeclass,andusedreaderstheatreinmyclassroom.Ihavelistenedtoeachstudentreadtomeeveryday,triedtoassesseachstudenteverydayandmademodificationstomymethodswhereneeded.Ihaveimplementedwritingdictionaries,awordwalland“try”cardstoassiststudentswiththeir writing.

Cindy Schaffer, Grade 1 (Jack)What Am I Doing to Achieve My Goals for Jack?

Jackhasstruggledwithhislettersoundsandsightwords.UsingJoanneMoore’sreadingandwritingprogram,Idoadailyreadingevaluationofdecodingwordsandreadingcompre-hension.Inthefall,thestudentsrevieworlearnanewlettersoundandwordeachday.Theclasswatchesapuppetshowthataccompaniesthelettersoundoftheday.Jackisveryengagedwhile watching the puppet show.

Jacklovestobeengagedinhislearning.Helikesinteractiveplayandlovestoplayliteracygames.Webegineachdaywithamathorliteracygame.Jackfeelsasthoughheisplaying,butinactualityheislearningthroughplay.Jackconstantlyasksifhecanplaywiththewordpuzzles or play just one more bingo game.

Jackneedstoberemindedtotrackthewordswithhisfingerwhenreading.Heknowssomewords,butheneedshelpsoundingoutthree-letterwords.Hefindsitdifficulttoblendsoundstogethertomakewords.Duringareaderstheatreactivity,Jackwashavingdifficultyfollowinghis lines even though they were highlighted.

Jackusesthewordwalltohelphimwithwritingandenjoystheword-wallgames.Jackhasawritingdictionarythatheusesforhelpwithdifficultwordswhenheiswriting,althoughheoccasionallyneedsassistance.Forexample,Imaysay,“Thewordyouarelookingforstartswith pandisonapinkbackground.”

I have

implemented

writing

dictionaries, a

word wall and

“try” cards to

assist students

with their

writing.

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Duringjournalwritingtime,Jackoftenhasdifficultyfindingsomethingtowriteabout.Hehasverylittlebackgroundknowledgeorexperienceoftheworldaroundhim.Whenwriting,Jackneedssomeonetositwithhimandsoundouteveryletterhewantstoprint,andheisalsohavingdifficultyputtingspacesbetweenhiswordsandusingcorrectpunctuation.

TohelpJackwithhisreading,Ihavemadeblending-wordflashcardstohelphimpractiseblending sounds together to read words. He also has a set of flashcards with unfamiliar letter soundsandsightwordstotakehome.Ahighschoolstudentworkswithhimeverydayduringclass time on his home reading, sight words and letter sounds.

TheextraassistancegivesJacktheindividualtimeandinstructionheneeds,andheisnowreadingeveryday.Jackreceivesone-on-oneearlyliteracyhelpfor15minutes,threetimesperweek,toreinforcehislettersoundsandsightwordsandtogetextrareadingpractice.Toboosthisconfidence,heisoftenpairedwithanotherstudentintheclassroom.

Jack—spring assessment

Skill Score Score in October 2006

Alphabetrecognition—sounds 31/35 26/35

Colour and sight words 40/44 29/44

STAR reading test 0.8–1.8GE

IstartedtheAcceleratedReaderprogramwiththeGrade1studentsafterEaster.Jackwasveryexcitedtostartthisprogram.Hehasgainedmotivationandself-confidencewhenreading.

Jackdidreallywellwhenworkingwithapartneronreaderstheatre.Hewasengagedandfollowed along with his partner, who, along with the group, gave him clues and helped him to remainfocused.Jackwillnowtrytosoundoutwordsonhisownwhenreading.Heisreadingcolour words and sight words. He will try to write a series of sentences on his own without assistance,heparticipatesinclassdiscussionsandheoftenvolunteerstodoexamplesonthechalkboard.

Jackwassoproudofhimselfwhenhewasstartingtoread.Irememberhimsaying,“Isoundedthatwordoutallbymyself!”Jackwasshowingconfidenceandbeliefinhimself.Thisdemonstratescontinualgrowthandshowsthathisconfidencewillcontinuetogroweveryday.

Joanne Medeiros, Grade 2 (Charlie)IlaterdiscoveredthatCharlie’solderbrotherhassomelearningdifficultiesandstrugglesat

school.Itwassurprisingtome,becauseIalwaysthoughtthebrotherwasastrongacademicstudent,andIimaginethatthissuppositionwaspartofthereasonIexpectedCharlietobemore successful.

My students have assembled a sight word vocabulary with the help of the Dolch sight word list.Charliedoesnothaveastrongsightvocabulary.IhaveastudenthelpereverydaytestingallofthestudentsontheDolchGrade1list;studentswhoscore100percentmoveuptotheGrade2list.WhileCharliescoredlowonthefirsttesting,hescored76percentonNovember14,2006.Ihadmystudenthelpertypeupalistofthewordsthathemissedandsentacopyofthislisthome,whilekeepingacopyatschoolfortheseniorhelpertoreviewwithCharlieeverymorning.Thisstrategywouldbeverydifficulttomanageinalargerclasswithoutthesupport of an aide or a special project student.

Mystudentshaveworkedonbuildingtheirsightwordvocabularythroughtheuseofasecretpassword.Toprovideextrapracticereadingsightwords,Iposttwosightwordsbymydoor—theyaresecretpasswordsthatthestudentshavetoreadeachtimetheyleavetheroom.

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AnotherstrategyIamusingwithCharlieisanindividualpulloutprogramwithourearlyliteracyaide.Sheworkswithsmallgroupsonreadingcomprehensionstrategies,phonics,sightwordsandsight-wordbingo.Wefoundthesmallergroupactivitiesandthefocusonearly literacy very helpful.

OnestrategyIamusingwiththewholeclassisreaderstheatre.Everyweekwelearnanewscript, and on Friday we either perform it for another class or students spend time reviewing oldscriptswithabuddyorinasmallgroup.Charlieisself-consciousandcautiousaboutjoin-inginifheisnotcompletelysureoftheanswer.Hekeepsalowprofileduringthefirstcoupleofdayswithanewscript,buthedoesusehisfingertotrackandcomesinattheappropri-atetime.IhavestartedsendingthereaderstheatrereportfoldershomeeveryFridaytogivestudentsextrapracticewiththescriptsandforfurtherexplorationofwrittenlanguage.Eachchild has a sheet in his or her report folder on which the parent records the title of any scripts that the child can read independently. Each sheet also has some suggested activities for the parent to try with the child.

Myneweststrategyistousenonfictionreadingmaterial(forexample,booksthatexplainhowthingsaremade,suchashowberriesbecomejelly,ortreesbecomepaper),whichtheboysin particular seem to enjoy and have success with.

AttheendofNovember,Charliescored0.9–1.8,whichwas1.34–0.44yearsbelowhisgrade-levelplacement.InMarch,theclasswrotetheSTARreadingtest.Charlieshowedsignificantgrowthinconfidenceandreadingability,andregisteredaZPDof1.4–2.4,whichis1.28–0.28yearsbelowhisgrade-levelplacement.FromthesescoresandfrommyobservationsofCharlie’sworkinclass,itisobviousthathehasmaintainedsteadygrowthandhasbeguntoclose the gap in his reading.

CharliehasshownconsistentmasteryoftheDolchGrade2wordlist,andInowhavemystudenthelperworkingontheGrade3wordswithallofthestudents.

Linda Holt, Grade 3 (Ben)InJanuary,whenIshiftedmyprogramtoagame-basedlearningstrategy,allofmystudents

improvedintheirdecodingandreadingstrategies.Benwasecstatic!Competitivebynature,hewouldstanduptoplayeachnewgameandfocusintently.Hequicklylearnedtheconceptsbeingtaughtandchallengedhimselftopickthehardestquestionsandthemostdifficultwords. His desire to be a leader was evident.

Ben’s needs became more focused when we met with our educational psychologist at the beginningofFebruary2007.ShehadtestedBeninNovemberofthepreviousyear,andtheresultshelpedustodesignamoreappropriateprogram.AsignificantdifferencebetweenBen’sverbalcomprehensionindexandhisworkingmemoryindexontheWISC-IV(WechslerIntelligenceScaleforChildren)suggestedthathehadalearningdisability.

Assessment Results

Verbalcomprehensionindex 8thpercentile

Perceptualreasoningindex 27thpercentile

Workingmemoryindex 50thpercentile

Processingspeedindex 21stpercentile

Furthertestingalsoindicatedthepresenceofthecombinedtypeofattentiondeficithyper-activitydisorder,andoppositionaldefiantdisorder.BenwasgiventheAlbertaEducationcodedesignation53(mild/moderateemotional/behaviouraldisability).Thesediagnosesaffected

41


the strategies that were used to meet Ben’s goals: multisensory strategies are no longer just an optionwithBen—theyarearequirementforhissuccess

Ben’spsycho-educationalreportrecommendedthathereceivemoretimeforprocessingandprovidingalternativeoutputtasks.VocabularyisnowtaughtusingpicturesasreferencepointsinBen’sbook.Thewordswrittenbesidethepicturearereviewedandusedinwritingand rereading. They then become the new sight words. Ben will use the pictures to successfully cue himself in sentence building.

Bennowwriteshisownsentencesbybreakingthewordsdownintotheircomponentparts.He can remember the small bits of sound and form the word he wishes to spell. This has been a powerful tool for Ben and has given him a wonderful sense of independence. He is no longer quiteasafraid.

Inthesmallgroupsetting,Benhadnobehaviouralissues.Hewasfocusedandreceivedenough adult intervention to ward off frustrations. Each class included at least one activity in whichBenwouldexcel.

What strategies have I implemented to ensure Ben’s success? Eachday,IhaveassessedBen’sresponsestomyteachingobjectivesandmeansofdelivery.

Ifrequentlyjotteddownkeypointsaspartofananecdotalrecord.Thisdeterminedmyobjectivesforthenextday.

Workingcollaborativelywiththehomeroomteacher,IhavemonitoredBen’ssuccessesandweaknessesandtrackedwhichstrategiesheusedinhisday-to-daywork.

IhavesupportedthedailyreadingthroughtheAcceleratedReadingProgram.Thereread-ingoftexts,thereadingwithadultsandthelevellingofreadingmaterialintheschoolhaveallhelpedBen.Heunderstandsthathemustreadbooksathisinstructionallevelwhenreadingalone,butheknowsthathecanchoosehardertextswhenreadingwithanadult.Thisallowsforpairedreading,chiminginandothersupports.Italsoallowshimtoreadchapterbooksthataretoodifficultforhimatanindependentlevel.

AsthereaderstheatreteacherinGrade3,IhavesetupprojectsthatsupportBen’slearning.Hehasbeenpairedwithstrongerreaders,workedonchoralspeechandhadtheopportunitytorepeattextmanytimes.Inaddition,weplayliteracygameseveryday.IhavefoundthatBenenjoystheinteractionwiththeotherchildren,andIamamazedathowthegamesituation encouraged oral language and vocabulary practice too.

Istartedavocabularybookofpicturereferencesrelatedtoournoveltextbylocatingpicturesofspecificvocabularywordsrelatedtohisnovelstudyandthengluingthemintohisscribbler. He then labelled the picture and used the words to write sentences.

EachdayIreadorallywithhimandtohim.Likeallotherstudents,heloveslisteningtostories.

IhavealsousedtheFirmFoundationsprogramandworkedthroughstrategiestoteachletter sounds, rhyming, syllables, phonemes and phonograms, which were reinforced with games.Ihavealsotriedtoscaffoldmyteachingtobuildcompetence.

IusedtheSprintReadingseriesfromScholasticasthebasisofournovelstudy.Ifocusedonprediction,comprehensionandfluency.Benstartedhisseventhnovellastweek.Thissuccess-fulprogramisverysupportiveandvariesthetextsbetweenfictionandnonfiction.

Ben writes sentences for practice in rereading and using his sounds for spelling. Choralreading,fluencypracticeandtrackingwithhisfingerhaveallhelped,ashasour

daily oral reading.IhavesharedmystrugglesandsuccesseswithmyPLCGreenTeam,whoaresohelpfuland

supportive.BecausetheyknowBen,theyhavebeenabletosuggestadditionalstrategies.

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Jeneen Armstrong, Grade 3 (Phillip) K–3teachersinBassanoSchoolhaveimplementedmathmethodologythatfocusesoncon-

nectingmathconceptstoreal-lifesituations.Thismethodology(MathforSuccess)incorporatesallthestrandsinmathdailyratherthanthroughunits.Itisaproblem-basedapproachtomaththatusesmanipulativeswheneverpossibletoenhancelearning.Studentsworkonconnect-ingmathskillsandconceptstotheirexistingnumbersensethroughdailylifeconnections.Wehave found that the majority of our students have become much better problem solvers and areusingtheirmathskillsmuchmoreconfidentlysincetheprogram’sinception.Phillipisamongthosestudentswhohavedifficultiesconnectingmathtoreallife.Forexample,whenasked“Whatcomesafter7?”Phillipcouldrespondquicklywith“8.”Whenasked“Whatdoes7plus1equal?”Phillipwouldfigureouttheansweronhisfingersandwasunabletoseeaconnectionbetweenbefore/afterandadding/subtracting.Alackofnumbersenseseemedcommon to most of the students who had trouble with math.

Icouldempathize.WhenIwasastudent,Iusedtosimplymemorizemathematicalfacts.Ihadtolearnthatthereisamuchdeeperunderstandinginvolved.Ihavebeenteachingmathformanyyearsnow,andIhavefoundthatchildrenwithoutastrongnumbersenseexperi-encedifficultieswithallstrandsofmath.IfeltthatifIcouldmakemathmoremeaningfulforPhillip,hismathskillswouldimprove,andhewouldhaveamuchstrongerunderstandingofmath and its use in daily life.

What steps did I take to ensure Phillip’s success?ThingsIamdoinginmyclassroomtoimprovenumbersenseincludethefollowing:

• Repeatingplacevaluedaily

• Representingnumbersinavarietyofways

• Playinggames(learningthroughplay)

• Makingconnectionstonumbersthroughreal-lifesituations

• Usinghands-onactivitiestoconnectconcepts

• Visuallyrepresentingallconceptsinavarietyofways

• Involvingchildrenintheirownassessment(graphingandanalyzingtestresults)

Eachdaywetakeonenumberanduseavarietyofwaystodemonstrateplacevalueandrepresent number, as indicated below:

• Placevaluechart(numbers)

• Placevaluecups(sticks)

• Tallychart

• Numberline(multiples,skipcounting)

• Base-10blockpictures

• Expandednotation

• Additionorsubtraction,oradditionandsubtractionnumbersentences

• Makeit1more,1less,10more,10less,100more,100less,1,000more,1,000less

Eachdayweusethefollowingreal-lifeitemsandideastocreateproblemsinvolvingallstrands:

• Calendar(daysinaweek,monthsinayear,howmanydaysago)

• Time

• Money

We have

found that the

majority of our

students have

become much

better problem

solvers and are

using their math

skills much more

confidently since

the program’s

inception.

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• Measurement

• Probability

• Weather

• Statistics

Atleastonceaweekweholdagamesdaytoreinforcealltheconceptswehavebeenworkingon.Numbersandplacevaluehavereceivedaspecialemphasis.

Itrytoincorporatehands-onactivitiesinasmanylessonsaspossible.AndIobserveandassessthechildrenastheyworkthroughproblemsusingmanipulatives.

Phillipisbeginningtounderstandnumbersandseerelationshipsbetweenthem.Todayheeagerlyshowedmeapatternthathenoticedonthemathtest.Itwasapatterningquestion,andhewaslookingforamuchmoredifficultwaytosolveit.Ashesawtheones,tensandhundreds columns changing in a simple way, he was eager to show me. He really thought hehadfoundtheeasywaytoanswerthequestion.Phillip’sconfidenceisgrowing,andIseehimbeginningtoincreaseclassroomparticipation.WhenIcallonhimheiswillingtoworkthroughthequestionwithmyguidance,evenwhenhehasnotputuphishand.Afterweworkthroughthequestiontogether,Ifindthatheiswillingtotryasimilarquestiononhisownthenextday.Thisiswhenrepetitionbecomesavaluableteachingtool.

What process do you use to decide how to address identified literacy needs of students?

RETExTTeacher PerspectivesJenn Schmidt, Kindergarten (Carrie)

ThediscussionatourlastPLCmeetingcentredonhowtogetstudentstoassessthemselves.Insteadoftheteachersaying“Goodjob,”theteachercouldask,“Whatdoyouthinkofyourworktoday?Why?Whatcouldyouhavedonedifferently?”Wewanttogetourstudentstolearntothinkcritically.

WhatwillIdonow?IamgoingtocontinuetouseourPLCtimeforreflection,collaborationandrefinementof

whatisalreadyworking.AlthoughstrategiesIhaveimplementedareworking,weneedtorequestadditionalfundingtosupporttheclassroomteacherwithmoreclassroomassistants.

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Iseeformativeassessmentasakeyfactorinmyclassroombecauseitisapositiveprocessthat includes the student. My students need to pinpoint where they are in their learning and where they want to go.

Cindy Schaffer, Grade 1 (Jack)Ifoundthisprojectvaluablebecauseitgavemetimetoself-reflectandrealizethatthemany

thingsthatIamalreadydoingonadailybasisaresobeneficial.Studentslovetobeinvolvedininteractiveliteracyandmathgames,becausegamesmake

themfeelthattheyarenotreallyworking,whereasinactualitytheyarelearningthroughplay,whichisgreatmotivation.Usingreaderstheatreintheclassroomenhancesgroupwork,vocalexpressionandreadingfluency.

Studentsbenefitfromself-reflectionbecauseitincreasestheirownershipoftheirownlearn-ing.Ihavealsolearnedmanyquickassessmenttools,suchasredtomeanstopandgreentomean go, as well as the following:

• Thumbup—meaningthatthestudentunderstandsorisreadytogoon

• Thumbin—meaningthatthestudentisstillthinkingorisunsure

• Thumbdown—meaningthatthestudentneedsmoretime,extrahelpandsoonTeacherassistantsandone-on-oneorsmallgroupworkalsobenefitstudentsbyallowingfor

moreindividualattentionandassistance.Jackshowedconsiderablegrowthwhenhehadextrahelpandone-on-oneinstruction.

Timealwaysseemstobeafactor.IwascontinuallytryingtomaketimetomeetJack’sneedsinorderforhimtoprogress.Itseemsasthoughthereisneverenoughtimetocollaboratewithotherteachers,toshareideasandteachingstrategies,andtodiscussresources.Ihavefound that teachers want to get out of the isolated teaching mode. Teachers want to have the opportunity to share good resources and strategies.

Joanne Medeiros, Grade 2 (Charlie)Initially,IwasveryinterestedinthisprojectasanopportunitytocontinuemyPLCgroup’s

goalswitharenewedfocusandsomefreshinsightsintoourwork.Ihopedtogainnewper-spectivesonwhatIhavebeendoingwellandwhatIcouldbedoingbetter.Iwasundertheimpression that we would do some video conferencing with the other schools involved in this project. As it turned out, the collaborative part of this project involved only our school group; wehaveneverhadanysortofcommunicationwiththeotherschoolsinvolved.Iguessthecol-laboration with the other schools will happen during the sharing and rewriting at the writing retreat.

DuringthisprojectIsometimesfeltunsure.Thedevelopmentofourquestionwasveryfrustratingtome,becauseIkeptgettinghunguponthewordassessment.Ihavefinallycometorealize that my problem with assessment stems from the traditional connotation of the word, becauseIhadnoformalwayofmeasuringtheeffectivenessofmanyofthestrategiesIusedinmyclassroom.IjustknewthatitwasanotherstrategytotryifwhatIwasdoingwasnotworking.

Iuseformativeassessmenteverydayinmyinteractionswithmystudents.Formativeas-sessmenthelpsmeknowwhatweshoulddonext,howweshouldrepeatsomething,howweshouldmoveontothenextactivityandwhentogiveaconceptarestorrevisit.

Istillstrugglewiththeword assessment attimes.IteachmostlyGrade2,butjustthisyearIhavetakenonsomejuniorandseniorcourses.AsaprimaryteacherIalwaysfocusedonthelearning;sometimesasajuniorhighteacher,Iworrymoreaboutthereportcardmark.ThisteachingtothetestwilldefinitelycontinuetobeanareaforinnerdebateifIcontinuetoteach

45


olderstudentsandhavetoreportorjustifymarksinatraditionalway.(Aren’twetryingtouseassessmentforlearninginDivisionsIIIandIVaswell?)

ThisprojecthasmademefocusmoreonthestrategiesIuse,howusefultheyareandhowIassess students and activities. My own confusion about the direction of this project has made memoreawareofstudents’needforspecificgoals.

Ithinkthatwhenwetalkaboutassessment,wetalkaboutgivingstudentsatargettoshootfor.Manytimesduringthisproject,IfeltlikeIwasshootingarrowsintothedarkandhopingthatImighthitatarget.Iscollaborationsupposedtobelikesolvingamystery,orisitabouthavingapredeterminedquestionortarget,determininghowtogetthereandsharingideastogether?Intheend,collaborationcomessonaturallytotheGreenTeam,itreallydoesnotneeddefining—ithappensallthetimeinthedailyinteractionswehaveasprofessionals,thedesire we have to help all students achieve and the openness with which we share our ideas.

Studentsaremoreconfident,particularlywiththereaderstheatre,becausethematerialisfamiliarandtheweek’sstructureispredictable.StudentslookforwardtoMonday,whentheygetthenewscript.Withreaderstheatre,Ibecomemoreawareofstudents’needforrepetition,andImakesuretoprovidemanyopportunitiestorevisitthefamiliartext.Aswell,Iamabletousethenewtextstoconsistentlyreviewwordskills,suchaslongandshortvowels,compoundwords,contractions,punctuation,synonymsandantonyms.Witheachnewscriptcomestheopportunitytoexpandstudents’vocabularyandreviewlanguageconceptsandcomprehen-sionstrategiesusingafamiliarpieceofwriting.Thedailysight-wordpasswordonthedoorhasreallyimprovedthestudents’abilitytoreadthosewordsquickly.

Linda Holt, Grade 3 (Ben)MydistrictAISIgroupinspecialeducationhasbeenverysupportive.Collaborativework

canbeextremelyuseful;therearesomanyknowledgeable,capablepeoplewillingtoadviseme and offer alternative teaching strategies.

Ihaveturnedtoourpsychologist,ourspecialeducationcoordinatorandmyfellowspecialedteammembersonstaffforideasandcomments.Itisvitaltohaveateamapproachand crucial that each student has a supportive group of collaborative leaders.

Jeneen Armstrong, Grade 3 (Phillip) Ihavelearnedthatwhathappensintheclassroomreallymakesadifference.Aswework

withourstudents,welearnaboutthemandourselvesthroughareflectiveprocess.Wemustacknowledgetheimportanceofwhathappensintheclassroom,becausethevalueofthisknowledgesupersedeseverythingelse.Wemustacknowledgetheimportanceofdevelopingassessment among ourselves. Assessment and evaluation go hand in hand.

IhavealsolearnedthatitisessentialtodevelopconsistencythroughoutK–3.Teachercom-municationaboutwhathasandhasn’tworkedfromoneyeartothenextandsmallclassesgiveteacherstimetoworkoneononewithstudentsandtodevelopprograms.

Focusing on two case studies has made me aware of the amount of time and energy that isneededtomeettheindividualneedsofallthestudentsinmyclassroomsothatIcan effectively handle the diversity and challenges faced in the classroom.

Jenn Schmidt, Kindergarten (Carrie)Carriehasimprovedimmensely.Ourplantobringherintokindergartenfivedaysaweek

hasprovedtobeworthwhile.Herconfidenceisimprovingandsoisheracademicsuccess.Carriecametouslastyearnotknowingthedifferencebetweenaletter,anumberanda

shape.Assheleaveskindergartensheknowsthefirstthreelettersinhername,aswellasmostcolours and shapes. Big improvement.

With each new

script comes the

opportunity to

expand students’

vocabulary and

review language

concepts and

comprehension

strategies using a

familiar piece of

writing.

46


ThisismyfirstyearusingSoundConnectionsforafullyear,andIfeelthatstudentswhouse it have better sound retention and alphabet recognition. Carrie’s success is largely due to combiningthisprogramwithDeniseGagne’salphabetsongsandaprinting/phonicsprogram.

Cindy Schaffer, Grade 1 (Jack)Iamgoingtocontinuetouseliteracyandmathgamesonadailybasis.Iamgoingtostart

usingmoreliteracyandmathcentrestoenhancestudentlearning,andIplantostartaliteracyandmathbagprogramtosendhomewiththestudents.IwillcontinuetoworkonwritingrubricsforGrade1withmyAISIdistrictwidePLCandwillcontinuetotrytoengageparentsin their child’s learning.

TheGreenTeamPLCcontinuestomeetweeklytodiscussteachingstrategies,ideasandresources.Weareacollaborativeteamthatlearnsfromeachothereveryday.Weareagreatsupportforoneanother,andwecanseehoweverythingwedoonadailybasisismakingadifference.

Time is of the essence. Teachers need time to collaborate and share ideas, resources and teachingstrategies.OurPLCmakestimetodiscusstheseissuesandideaseveryweek.We support each other and will do whatever we can to help our students succeed.

Weareassessingallthetimeatourgradelevel,andcontinuallymodifyingandmakingadjustmentseverydaytobettersuittheneedsofourstudents.Weworktowardmasteryofaparticular concept. Sometimes you forget about all the little things you do and how important they really are.

Joanne Medeiros, Grade 2 (Charlie)Iamgoingtotrytovideotapestudentsreadingtheirreaderstheatrescriptandbeingguided

throughaself-reflectionsheet.Thiswillbeanopportunityforthemtoassesswhattheydowell and what they can improve upon.

Iwillusemorenonfictionreadingandwritingactivitiesfromthestartofthenextschoolyear.Iamcurioustoknowiftheboysaremoremotivatedtoreadsuch material because it is familiar and concrete, or if they are interested be-causetheyhavereadenoughothertextstomakethemproficientreaders.

Iwillcontinuetousethesecretpasswordactivity,whichIhaveexpandedtoinclude some math concepts, such as counting sets of coins.

Readerstheatrehasbeenaveryusefulteachingtoolandawaytoquicklydoanassessmentforlearning.Whenthechildrenstrugglewithanywords,thatgives me a chance to do a minilesson.

IwillcontinuetoworkcollaborativelywiththemembersoftheGreenTeam.IthasalwaysbeenreassuringtoknowthatIcangotoateammemberwithmy

questionsorconcernsandcomeawaywithsuggestionsandasenseofpeace,knowingthatmycolleagues face the same struggles.

Linda Holt, Grade 3 (Ben)IhavelearnedthatIneedtohavefun:allmystudents,includingBen,learnmorewhen

Iamexcitedaboutaconcept.Andenjoymenthelpsmekeepmymethodsfresh,variedandmultisensory.

Ineedtocelebratesmallsuccesses:learningisdevelopmental,andsometimestheincre-ments are very small. Sometimes children have learning disabilities, and often environmental factors,suchastroubledhomelives,affecttheirperformance.Ihavelearnedthatanygrowthisexciting.

47


Ineedtobeaconsistent,predictable,calmforceinBen’slife;heneedstotrustmeandbelieveinwhatIamteaching.Ineedtobehonest,explicitinmyinstruction,immediatewithmyfeedbackandinsistentthatBenbeaccountable.

Ineedtokeeplearning.EachreflectiononandassessmentofBen’slearningrequiresthatIknowwhattodonext.Researchingbestpracticesisatime-consumingjob.IbelongtotheAlbertaReadingCouncil,theSoutheastAlbertaInternationalReadingAssociationandtheInternationalReadingAssociation(IRA).Alloftheseorganizationsofferawealthofmaterialformylearning.IsubscribetotheIRAresearchjournalandmagazineandrelyontheAlberta Reading Association Journal formaterial.Threetimesayear,ImeetwithAlbertacouncilmem-berstodiscussreadingissues.Iamconstantlyreadingresearchintheareaofreading,which,Ihavelearned,isanenormousfield.

Ineedtoteachmorethanreading—IneedtoteachBenhowtocopewithhistemperament.Ifhedoesn’tbecomeawareofhisspecialmentalfunctionsandabilitiesandhowtodealwiththem, he will fail.

IhavelearnedthatwehaveexcellentteachersinourK–3group.OurdistrictAISIteamhasalsobeenextremelysupportiveofourworkattheschool.

Smallclassesmakeahugedifference.WewerefortunateenoughthisyeartohavetwosmallGrade2classes:onewith12students;theotherwith13.Bytheendoftheyear,everystudentwas reading at or above grade level.

What am I going to do about it?Iwilltakemylearningandapplyittoallofmyclasses.Iwillcontinuetoassessstudents

individuallyandthensetupprogramstosuittheirneeds.Iwillcontinuetoread,studyandcollaborate with other teachers to improve my own teaching.

EverydayItellmyselfthatchildrendowelliftheycan.Itisparamount,then,thatIprovidethe environment, the strategies and the consistent encouragement needed for Ben to meet his goals.Imustteachtohisstrengthswhilestrengtheninghisweaknesses.Learningshouldbefun, and that is why he loves the games; he will repeat a concept many more times if it is fun. Benhasalsobeguntousetext-to-speechcomputer-assistedreadingintheclassroomforsomeofhisassignments.Thisisagoodego-booster,becauseitoffersindependence.

Jeneen Armstrong, Grade 3 (Phillip) Iamgoingtocontinuetostrivetomeettheindividualneedsofallmystudentsthrough

games,repetitionandconnectingmathtoreal-lifesituations.Creatinganatmosphereinwhich students are actively engaged in their own learning will continue to enhance my math philosophy.Iwillcontinuetousemystudents’needstofuelmyteachingandtoensurethatassessment and evaluation continually go hand in hand.

Our Green Team will continue to discuss and share best practices to help all our students becomesuccessfullearners.WhenIlookatthedefinitionofcollaborativeinquiry,Iseehoweffectivelyourteamfitsthisdefinitionandhasworkedformanyyearsonthisprocess.Weareconstantlycollaborativelydiscussingandplanning,andtryingtomakesenseofthecomplexworkofteachingandlearning.UsingourPLCtimetotalkaboutdifferentstudentsinourclassandwhathasandwhathasn’tworkedhasbeenverybeneficial.Thisprojectmayhavefocusedonafewtargetstudents,butasweworkedthroughtheprojectwecouldseehowmanyotherstudentsbenefitedfromourconcentratedefforts.

I will take my

learning and

apply it to all

of my classes. I

will continue to

assess students

individually

and then set up

programs to suit

their needs. I

will continue to

read, study, and

collaborate with

other teachers to

improve my own

teaching.

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Team Reflections Overall,collaborativeinquirythatfocusesonassessmentofstudentshelpedtoimprove

studentlearning.MembersoftheGreenTeamacknowledgetheimportancebothofwhathap-pensintheclassroomandofformativeandsummativeassessments.Extraneousinformationabout students is important, but what happens in the classroom is paramount.

This project and our case studies provided us with a focus for reflective teaching. All of the studentsimprovedwhenweusedassessment-for-learningstrategiesintheclassroom.

Whenstudentsseethemselvesascapable,theybecomeevenmorecapableandtheirself-esteemincreases.Studentsexhibitmoreconfidenceastheirskillsimprove,andtheyaremuchmorewillingtotakeriskswhentheyareself-assured.Whenstudentsareengaged,learningtakesplacenaturally.Manyofourstudentsweremoreengagedduringhands-onandgame-centredactivities,orreaderstheatre,whentheydidn’tviewlearningaswork.

Learningexperiencesmustbereal.Someofourreluctantreadersdidverywellreadingnonfictionbooks,becausetothem,nonfictionwasmoremeaningfulandrelatedtotheirworld.Theyhaveakeendesiretounderstandtheirenvironment,andwecanbuildonthisinourclassroom activities.

Itisimportantthatstudentsbepartofthelearningprocess.Weneedtogivethemthebigpicturesothattheysetreachablegoals.Itisimportantthatstudentshelpsetcriteriaandjudgethemselvesaccordingtothesetcriteria.Exemplarsmakeiteasierforstudentstoassesstheirexistingabilitiesandfigureoutwhattheyneedtodotoprogresstothenextlevel.Self-reflectionisasimportantforthestudentasitisfortheteacher.Studentsneedtobuildskillsinusingself-evaluationstrategiesandexemplarsintheyoungergrades,sothattheywillbecomereflectivelearnersastheygothroughschool.Weneedtoteachtotheirstrengthsandstrength-entheirweaknesses.Givingstudentsregulardescriptivefeedbackandhavingtheminvolvedintheirfeedbackhelpthemtoidentifywaystoimprove.

Itisnecessarytoincludeobservationsaspartoftheassessmentofchildreninourclass-rooms, because observations help us to implement intervention strategies and change or continue these strategies based on further observation.

On the Art of CollaboratingOurgroupisverysupportiveofeachother.Thereisarealtrust—acomfortzonewhen

takingrisks.Thetrustwithinourgroupalsomeansthatwearehonestwitheachotherandnotafraidtotalkaboutstrugglesandproblems,orstrategiesthathavefailedmiserably.

Sometimes,though,collaboratingcanmakeusfeelasthoughwe’renotdoingasmuchaswe should or guilty about not doing what another teacher is doing. The amount of information and the number of strategies to try can be overwhelming.

Action research is about helping professionals cross the boundary between self and other, meandnotme,knownandunknowninordertoimprovetheirinstructionalpractice.

What have the teachers learned about• themselves?• thecasestudystudents?• literacy?

What have you learned about• yourself?• literacy?

Learning

experiences must

be real. Some of

our reluctant

readers did very

well reading

nonfiction books,

because to them,

nonfiction was

more meaningful

and related to

their world.

49


St Michael’s

School

St Michael’s School

Medicine Hat Catholic School Division

50


PRETExTOur School

Medicine Hat’s St Michael’s School is a magnet school that draws students from around thecity.ItisalsothehomeschoolfornorthwestCrescentHeights,thesouthwestHillareaandRedcliff.

StMichael’sSchoolfirstopeneditsdoorsin1965butwasofficiallyopenedaftertheadditionofagymandeastwinginOctober1968.FurtherexpansionincludedtheadditionofthedramafacilityandoneclassroominSeptember2000.State-of-the-artrenovationswerecompletedinSeptember2004fortheLAPclassroom.

In2006/07,StMichael’sSchoolcelebratedits16thanniversaryasthedesignatedfineartsschoolfortheMedicineHatCatholicDistrict.Since1990,instructionalminuteshavebeenmaximizedtoprovideanoverallCatholiceducationwithafineartsfocus.Ourmottois“Worksofartinthemaking.”

The St. Michael’s team (left to right): Bev Fune, Maria Sehn, Anne Tomcala (principal) and Karen Gloin

Fine Arts FocusMusic, movement, art and drama are integrated throughout the curriculum into students’

daily learning. An options program featuring various visual and performing arts selections isofferedtoallGrades4and5students.Eachterm,studentsselectfromvariousoptionsbasedonstudentandteacherinterests.Recentoptionshaveincludedblacklighttheatre,handchimes,puppetry,guitarprogram,theatre/musicalproductionandpaperarts.Asmallannualfeeischargedtocovercostsforallfineartsactivities,includingattendingproductionsandguest performances.

51


Our Students StMichael’shas170studentsinGradesK–5andLAP.Most(85percent)ofthestudentsare

busedtoStMichael’severyday.Thereisanout-of-schoolcareprogram.

Our StaffStMichael’shas9teachers(including1.5resourceroomteachers),18supportstaffanda

caretakingstaff.Theschooloffersfull-day,dailykindergarten,andliteracyandnumeracyprograms.

Teammembers:BevFune,KarenGloin,MariaSehn

ConTExTInSeptember,staffhadtwomainprofessionaldevelopmentopportunities:districtAISI

workshops,ledbyDavidLeahy,anddistrictPDLDierfocusEffectiveSchools.Inaddition,professionallearningcommunity(PLC)timewastimetabledintotheschool

weektoallowforcollaborationandcollegialconversationaboutstudentwriting.StaffalsoattendedthreeATAworkshopsonhowtoimprovestudentwriting,whichusedthesecondedition of Refocusing(anAlbertaAssessmentConsortiumpublication)asitsbasis.Teacherslearned how to

• useassessmentfor learning as effective instruction,

• developassessment-for-learningrubrics(staffsawsamplesofstudentwork,exemplarsandanchorpapers)and

• deviseanassessment-for-learningplanforat-riskstudents.Additional supports in the school were materials from the Alberta Assessment Consortium;

UnitedStreaming,whichgaveusaccesstoresourcesforsupportinglearneroutcomes;andSmart Boards, an interactive whiteboard that provides endless possibilities for involving students in their learning.

Giventhatwehadalreadyidentifiedstudentwritingasapriority,wewerehappytoreceiveaninvitationtoworkonanactionresearchprojectthatwouldfocusonhowteacherscanimprovestudentwriting.Thisactionresearchprojectwouldbuildontheworkwehadalreadydone, but there would be additional supports, such as

• HighestLevelofAchievementTest(HLAT)resources(fromEdmontonPublic),whichwerevery useful;

• resourcepersonnelwhohadworkedwiththeHLATmaterials;

• writing-promptdevelopment;and

• helpindevelopingrubrics.As we began the project, the school principal reflected on some of the challenges that the

teamfacedinrelationtoworkonassessmentwiththeentireschoolstaff.Werealizedthat assessment for learning includes a dialogue with students and a need to be aware of students’ abilities.Wealsohadtoofferqualityfeedbackanddevelopqualityrubrics.Wehadto

52


rememberthatthiswasnotaquickfix;itneededtobelongitudinal,andteachersrequiredtimeforcollaboration,collegialconversationsandreflection.Ourprojectquestionwas:How will assessment for learning and assessment tools (rubrics) help improve student writing?

Our goals were to

• unpackthecurriculum;thatis,cometounderstandtheintentoftheprogramofstudiesandthenrelatethegeneralandspecificlearneroutcomestothatintent,sothatwehadacontinuumofgoalsfromK–5;

• havestudentswriteeffective“Ican”statements;and

• createausefulrubricforeachgradelevel.Onestaffmember,BevFune,describedherparticipationintheprojectinthisway:“Itwill

beanexcellentopportunitytoworkwithteachersfromothergradelevelsonacollaborativeproject.Iamdoingthisnotonlytohelpmychildren,butalsotohelpmyselfimproveasaneducator.”

TeacherKarenGloindescribedherperceptionsinthisway:

Ithinkweallhaveaprettycommoninterest—toimprovestudentlearningandinstruc-tion,andinparticular,writing,byincorporatingassessmentforlearningtechniquesintoourindividualpractices.Thegoalistoincorporatethosetechniquesintoourcollectivepractices(inmyopinion,thisisagoalheldbythemajorityofstaff).Prioritizingneeds,pacing,andthescopeandsequenceofthestepsnecessarytoeffectchangevariedamongteachers.WewereatdifferentplacesinourAFLjourneys,andexcitedandreadytotakesmall steps to improve in our own chosen area.

Teacher Maria Sehn provided further reflection:

Wewerebroughttogethertoimprovestudentwriting.Thisgoalbecamethefocusofourprofessionallearningcommunities,which,inourcase,consistsoftheK–3teachers.OurK–3teamwasthenapproachedbyouradministratorregardingtheLAP(LeadershipinAssessmentProject).AfterourinitialmeetingwithRobertHogg,oftheAlbertaAssessmentConsortium,threemembersofourteamdecidedtocontinue.OurPLCgoalsweretomapoutthewritingoutcomesfromthelanguageartscurriculumfromKto3inordertoseetheprogression.Fromthere,wewouldwritethoseoutcomesinlearner-friendlylanguageinthebeliefthatmakingstudentsawareofthegoalswouldhelpthemimprove their writing.

Targeted StudentsFollowingdevelopmentofthequestionandreflectiononproposedgoals,theteammembers

identifiedtargetstudents.

Bev Fune, Kindergarten (Amy)IchoseastudentnamedAmy,whopresentedseverelanguage-communicationdelay.Amy

knewonlyafewofthelettersinthealphabetandhaddifficultycommunicatingherideasinacoherentmanner.Shedidn’tliketotrydifficultthings.Shehadweakfinemotorcontrol,soprintingandwritingwereverydifficultforher.

My goal was for Amy to be able to

• expressherselfthroughdrawings,

• explainherdrawingsusingsentencesand

• writesimplewordsandsentencesonpaper.

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Wesetouttodeveloprubricsbecausewethoughttheywouldbeimportantandwouldhelpimprove student writing. However, we soon learned that a rubric would not be a useful tool forkindergarten.

Wheredidwegooncewediscoveredthat?Wecreatedwritingprompts.Theschoolwideprompt—“FinallyIsaidtomyselfasIjumpedoutofbed…”—wastoowordyforkindergar-teners,soIsimplifiedit.ThechildrenwereaskedtothinkabouttheperfectChristmasandtoillustrateanddescribewhattheysawwhentheywokeuponChristmasmorning.ItoldthemwhatIexpectedintheirdrawing(thestudentsthemselveshadtobeintheirdrawing,aswellas the people and things they would see on a perfect Christmas morning; they were to use dif-ferentcolourstoshowdetail;andtheyhadtodescribetheirpictureusingacompletesentence).Theirsentencesweretodescribehowthingsmightlook,taste,feel,soundandsmell.Eitherthestudentwouldwritethesentencekindergartenstyle(phonetically)oranadultwouldwriteitfor the student.

WhenIwasdescribingthewritingassignmenttomystudents,webrainstormedvariousChristmas-relatedwords.Thenwediscussedhowwecouldbringthesentencesintoourwrit-ing.Thestudentsweregivenasetamountoftimeandweretoldtotreatitlikeatest.Withinthattime,theyweretoplan,writeandedittheirwork.

Amymetthecriteriaforherdrawing.However,whenshefirstbegandescribingherdraw-ing,shebeganbysimplylabellingthings.AmyandIreviewedthecriteriathenorganizedherideas, beginning with the writing prompt.

ThekeythingsthatwerebeneficialtoAmyinthiswritingprojectwere

• clearcriteria,

• feedbackand

• opportunitiestodrawandwrite.Throughout the year, Amy had daily opportunities to write and draw. She was encouraged

tosoundwordsoutandwritethemastheysounded.Bywritinganddrawingdaily,herfinemotorcontrolandherconfidenceincreased,andshebegantoexperimentwithsoundingoutwords.

InMarch,thechildrenhadtodrawapictureofsomethingtheyliketoeat.Amydrewapictureofmashedpotatoesandgravyandwrote“MPG”abovethepicture. Whenshebroughtherbooktome,shereadthesentence“Ilikemashedpotatoesandgravy.”Thiswascertainlysomethingtocelebrate—thefirstsentencethatshehadwrittenindependently.

InMay,wecompletedasecondschoolwidewritingprompt.Weprovidedapictureofa situation in which a class pet had gone missing. As a class we discussed what was happen-ing in the picture. The students’ assignment was to decide what the pet was and where it had gone.

Amywasquiteexcitedaboutthisprojectbecauseshelovesanimals.Sheeagerlybegantodrawapictureofalizardandtheprincipalinheroffice.Shelabelledthelizardandthenshe began to write her sentence. As she began sounding out the word principal, she turned to meforassistance,butIwantedtoseehowmuchshecoulddoonherown.Whenshesaid,“Ican’tdoit,”Iaskedhertoturntopreviouspagesinherjournalwhereshehadsoundedoutsomewordsbyherself.Shewasquiteproudofthis.Wethenturnedbacktothepagethatshehadbeenworkingon,andIaskedhertosaythewordslowly.Shecompletedthesentenceby herself. She had written the words lert(forlizard);psrp(principal’s)andofes(office).Thenshereadittome:“Itisalizard.Itisintheprincipal’soffice.”

Wecelebratedthegoodthingsinherwriting.Amywasveryproudofherdrawingofthelizardandtheprincipallookingoutofthewindow.Shewasalsoveryproudofherspelling,buthadtroubleformingtheletterscorrectly,andsheaskedmetohelpherchangeit.

HowdidassessmentforlearninghelpAmyimproveherwritingskills?WhatworkedforAmy?Whenchildrenarefirstlearningtoexpressthemselvesthroughdrawingandwriting,

Amy was quite

excited about

this project

because she loves

animals. She

eagerly began to

draw a picture

of a lizard and

the principal

in her office.

She labelled

the lizard and

then she began

to write her

sentence.

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themostimportantthingistogivethemfrequentopportunitiestoengageindrawingandwritingactivities.ForAmy,settingcriteriaandclearexpectationswasthenextmostimportantthing.Guidingherthroughtheprocess,providingfeedbackandhelpingherreflectonherwriting were also crucial.

How is the development of textual literacy enhanced by a teacher’s ability to draw on a sophisticated approach to multi-literacy?

Karen Gloin, Grade 3 (Eden)IchoseEden,theweakestwriterintheclass,whohadconsiderabledifficultiesarticulating

herthoughtsonpaper.Hersentencestructurewasveryweakandlackedorganizationandcoherence,andshehadconsiderabledifficultiesrecognizinghererrors.

MygoalwasforEdentobeabletoidentifyandacknowledgetheproblemwithherwritingandusethetoolsthatIgavehertorectifythem.

This project contributed to student learning in that it allowed me to collaborate with peers andtakeassessmentforlearningtools,liketherubric,andtestthemfortheireffectonstudentwritingandthentoreflectonthisprocess.ThestepsItookwithmytargetedstudent,Eden,alsobenefitedtherestoftheclass.Contributingtothestudents’successwastheimplementa-tionofassessment-for-learningstrategies,suchascommunicatingtostudentswheretheyare,where they need to go and how they can get there.

Other tactics that were valuable in Eden’s improvement were

• checklistsofrequiredcriteriaforgoodbeginnings,middlesandends;

• checklistsforwhatgoodsentencescontain;and

• “Ican”statementsforwhatIexpecthertobeabletodo.

Edenimprovedafterone-on-oneguidanceusingaformattedsentence-buildertask.Shealsoimprovedwhenherpeerspointedouthererrorstoher.Whengivenastudent-friendlychecklistofthemechanicsnecessaryforgoodwriting,shewasbetterequippedtoamendhermistakes.

Maria Sehn, Grade 2/3 (Liam and Eric)BecauseIamteachingaGrade2/3split,Idecidedtochooseonestudentfromeachlevel.

TheGrade2studentIchoseisLiam.Hehaslimited?thoughbutdoesshowgreatinterestandwillingnesstoimprove.Liamenteredtheresourceprogramtoboosthisperformancetograde-appropriatelevels.IchosehimbecauseIwouldliketohelphimreachthelevelofhispeers.Accordingtothetests,Liamisanaveragestudent,buthiswritingskillsareslightlybelowthose of his classmates.

TheGrade3studentIchosewasEric.Heenjoysandisgoodatwriting,whichseemstocomenaturallytohim.IwantedtoseeifdifferentassessmentandwritingstrategieswouldhelpimproveeventhenaturalwriterslikeEric.

LiamLiam was entered into the resource program with the intent to give him a boost. Testing

showedthathedidnothavealearningdisability,buthedidhavesomeareasofweaknessthat,

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withshort-termintervention,couldbereversed.Hisprogresswasimmediate—somuchsothatweremovedhimfromtheresourceprogramafterChristmasbreak.Afterleavingtheprogram,he continued to do well.

Withthisdramaticimprovement,Ifelthewouldbeabletocontinuethesamewritingproj-ectsastherestoftheclass,withthesameexpectationsasoutlinedintherubric.Withthefocuson organization, and after being shown what a beginning, middle and end were, Liam was able to add a considerable amount of detail to his stories, as can be seen in his later planning pages.

Eric and Pizzazz WordsAstheprojectcontinued,severalcolleaguesandIbegantoattend6+1WritingTraits

inservicesprovidedbyourAISIco-coordinator,DavidLeahy.ItwasthecombinationoftheLeadershipinAssessmentProject,ourAISIprojectandourlearningofyetanotherwritingtool that made me realize that Eric needed more than the original rubric could provide him, because his writing had advanced beyond the basics of the rubric.

As the project year came to a close, it occurred to me that in addition to solidifying beginnings, middles and ends in his stories, what Eric really needed was to learn how to addpizzazztohiswriting.SoIbeganusingthe6+1WritingTraitsprogramtoshowallthe children how this should be done.

The initial lesson about word choice revealed that the students loved learning about new pizzazz words, they loved how they sounded and they loved using them. They would need more time to practise using such words in their writing. Given that our school has decided tocontinuewithouroriginalgoalofimprovingstudentwritingandtoimplementthe6+1WritingTraitsprogramtoaccomplishthatgoal,Ifeelconfidentthatallofmystudentswilldevelopthisskillandotherwritingskillsintheyearstocome.

SuBTExTBev Fune, Kindergarten (Amy)

Rubricswereabitofaflyintheointmentforme,becauseIdidnotknowhowtomakeaneffectiverubric,andsotheGrade1teacherandIfailedtocreatearubricthatwasusefulforus.

Karen Gloin, Grade 3 (Eden)Wedevelopedasummativerubricwiththeideaofassemblingtherequirementsandexpec-

tationsofGrade3writinginrubricform.Wethenusedthisrubrictoascertainourstudents’abilitiesinrelationtotheotherstudentsintheschool.IworriedasIaskedmyclasstowriteaboutthispromptbecauseIhadnotyetcoveredallofthecriteriawithintherubric,andIfrettedoverthefactthatwehadspentdaysconstructingthisteacher-friendlyrubricwhenwhatIreallywantedtofindoutwashowastudent-friendlyrubricwouldbenefitmystudents.

WhenIintroducedthewritingtask,Ididn’tevenmentiontherubric,otherthanbrieflystressing the importance of planning content and good sentence building. So why did we spendvaluabletimecreatingthisrubricwhenitdidn’tseemuseful?Thatwasmyquestionand,inhindsight,IthinkthatIshouldhavelookedmorecarefullyatwhatkindofrubricwouldbethebesttoolatthefrontendofawritingtask,whereitwouldbethemosthelpful.

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Usingtherubricafterwritingwasgoodbutnotentirelyuseful,sinceIwantedtogivemystudentsasetofcriteria—guidelinestheycouldfollowtohelpthemwriteagoodpiece.Thestory my target student wrote using our prompt was at the emerging level of our rubric.

Ithinkthatallstaffwerekeentoputthewritingoutcomesweunpackedintostudent-friendly language. As an entire staff, we were leaning more toward doing this than develop-ingrubrics.Ibelievethatthisiswhenwhatshouldhavebeenoneprojectbecametwo.Wegotsidetrackedbytherubricthing,whichwas,inhindsight,adetouronourroadtoimprovingstudentwriting.WeweretoohastyinlookingforaquestiontofocusonbecausetheLAPrequiredone.Ourquestionreallyshouldhavestemmedfromourschoolwideprofessionaldevelopment.Forexample,Ithinkthatthefollowingquestionwouldhavebeenabetterone:Howdoestheuseofwritingoutcomesdeliveredas“Ican”statementsimprovestudentwriting?

The rubric focus wasn’t a good one, and we ended up veering away from it after spend-ing considerable time developing a schoolwide writing rubric and writing sample prompts. Theintentionwastoclassifygrade-levelwritingandanswerthesequestions:WhatdoesK–5writinglooklike?andWhat,inourexperienceasK–5teachers,areourstandardsforwriting?Thatintentionwasneverfullyrealizedduetolackofprofessionallearningcommunitytimingandotherissues.Irealizenowthatthisagendadidn’thavemuchtodowiththegoalsofthisproject.Wedid,however,thinkitdidandveeredoffonatangenttryingtofindwaystomakeit relevant.

Time for teachers to collaboratively discuss assessment practices can far exceed the time they spend evaluating student work in isolation. What can be done to shift this balance?

Knowingexactlywhatresultswewantedtoseeasaschoolandchoosingappropriateassessment-for-learningstrategiestohelpusachievethoseresultswouldhaveyieldedmoremeasurable outcomes.

I think that

all staff were

keen to put

the writing

outcomes we

unpacked into

student-friendly

language.

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The second problem involved each team member focusing on one student. Since the rubric wasneverputintostudent-friendlylanguage,theresultsforthisfocuswereinconclusive.Iwasunabletousetherubricasitwastodirectstudentspriortoawritingtask.Whatwascon-clusive, however, was that the rubric we spent much valuable time on was, for the purposes of thisstudy,unusablebecauseofitslimitedbenefits.Iuseditonlyforjudgingthelevelatwhichmytargetstudentfellontherubric.Iknowthatarubricisavaluabletoolforgaugingstudentabilities, but for rubrics to improve writing, they must be issued to the students. They must alsobewellwrittenandhavelotsofdetailsthatgivespecificsforeachcriterion.Thisallowsstudents to identify where they need to improve.

Maria Sehn, Grade 2/3 (Liam and Eric)MyinitialpersonalgoalforthisprojectwastolearnsomethingthatIcouldtakebackto

mystudents.Inmyheart,Ifeltthatstudentswouldexperiencesuccessbyleapsandbounds.Althoughthishasnotbeenthecaseinsuchashortperiodoftime,I’velearnedthatthisisjustthe beginning of their learning and mine.

DidIhaveclearlydefinedgoalsforeachstudent?No.Isimplywantedtoseeanimprovement.Frankly,Ididn’tthinkIneededspecificgoalsforeachindividualstudent.Thecurriculumwouldtakecareofthis,wouldn’tit?

InitiallyIthoughtthatIhadtofocusoneverythingintherubricatthesametime.Irealizedfrom this project, though, that success would come from focusing on one part of it at a time. AlthoughIhadbeenteachingspecificskillsofstorywriting,itseemedfromthebeginningofthisprojectthatifIcouldjustcompleteagreatrubric,showittothestudentsandexplainitclearlyenough,theirwritingwouldimprovedramatically.Ithoughtthatbydoingthis,mystudentswouldknowexactlywhatwasexpectedofthem,andtheywoulddoit.

DeepdownIknewthiscouldnothappenwithoutmyteachingtheskillsfirst,butwhereto start? The rubric seemed so huge, and the students hadn’t been taught everything from ityet.Itwasn’tuntiltheMarchmeetingwithourgroupthatIrealizedthatIdidn’thavetousethewholerubric—thatusingpartsofitmaybehelpfulduringtheprocessoflearningwriting.Theentirerubricwouldbemoreusefulasanend-of-yearsummativeassessmenttool.Givingstudentsoneaspectofwritingonwhichtofocusandpractiseisoneofthekeystotheirdevelopinggoodwritingskills.

Sowefocusedonorganization.Wepractisedwritingbeginnings,middlesandends,anddiscussedwhateachshouldlooklike.Thenwebeganputtingthemtogether.Thisnarrowingdown and homing in on one aspect of writing gave students the opportunity to strongly de-velopthisskillandblockoutdistractions.Thedifferencewasnoticeableintheirlaterwriting.

IbelievethatifIhadhadacleartarget,mystudentswouldhavehadoneaswell.Infact,inhindsight,manythingswouldhavebeendifferent.Perhapswewouldhavechosenwritingprompts only for our three participating teachers instead of including the entire staff. Trying to gathereveryonetogethertoplanandexplainwhatweweretryingtoaccomplishtookprecioustimeandeffortawayfromourproject.PerhapsconfusioncamefromtryingtocombinethisprojectwithourschoolandPLCgoals.ThegoalofourPLCgroupwastomapoutthewritingoutcomesfromK–3andthenwritetheminchild-friendlylanguage.Thisalonewasmeanttotakeafullschoolyearbut,whencombinedwiththisproject,itseemedtoohugetocompleteinoneschoolyear.Confusionensued,andtimebecameabigissue.Whenwewerereadytomoveforward, the rest of the school wasn’t.

Whenwewereinitiallyapproachedaboutdoingthisproject,Ihadnoideawhatitwasabout.AllIknewwasthatitwouldrelatewelltowhatweweredoingasadistrictwithourAISIprojectandwithourschool’sgoalofimprovingstudentwriting.Ineverreallyunder-stoodthegoaloftheproject.Lookingback,Isupposemyconfusionstemmedfromthefactthatwedidnotprepareourownquestiontoresearch.Onethingthisprojecthastaughtmeistheimportance of a concrete goal.

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RETExT

Team ReflectionsThere were dissenting opinions about where to start because of team members’ different

experienceswithassessmentforlearning.Shouldwestartbymakingarubricorunpackingthewritingcurriculum,whichthePLCgroupswerealreadydoing?Thenextitemontheagendawastoputthosewritingoutcomesintochild-friendlylanguage.Manydidnotbuyintobuild-ingtherubricbeforeunpackingwascomplete,butwediditanyway.

Wediscoveredearlyonthatourrubricwasn’tfunctional.Wehadtobeginwiththeendinmind,sowewentbacktothefoundation.Webeganunpackingthecurriculumtogetaclearideaofwhatthestudentswereexpectedtolearn.Unpackingthecurriculumisahugeunder-taking,sowenarrowedourfocustounpackingthewritingoutcomesonly.

Thechallengesinthisprojectbeganveryearlyon.Wedidn’thaveaclearsenseofthepurposeofthisproject,ourgoalorwhatwewerebeingaskedtodo.JustasAFLsuggests directing students toward the target or communicating the desired end, we were waiting to be setintherightdirectionorshownanendproduct.Notknowingwhatonearthweweredoingwasahugestumblingblock.

AnotherstumblingblockwasthefactthatwewerealreadyinaschoolwideAISIprojectaimedatimprovingstudentwriting,andstaffwerealreadyunpackingthewritingoutcomes.Thisprojectwasnotmeanttobeanadd-ontothatone,butitendedupbecomingonebecause

Mistakes are

bound to happen,

but, as we so

often tell our

students, one

learns from one’s

mistakes.

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ofinexperiencewithAFLandalackofthoughtfulmergingofthetwo.Inallfairness,however,thelearningandmethod-adoptingcurveissteepwiththiswork.Thereisnoflightmanual—ittakesaleapoffaithtostepoffthecliff.Mistakesareboundtohappen,but,aswesooftentellourstudents,onelearnsfromone’smistakes.

TimingOurfirstwritingsamplewasnotgivenuntilNovember.Ideally,weshouldhavehadasam-

pleinSeptember,orearlyOctoberatthelatest,butourfirstLeadershipinAssessmentProjectmeeting didn’t occur until late October. Trying to get an entire staff together in a short period oftimeanddevisingapromptthatwouldworkforallK–5studentswasnoteasy.Asaresultof the time shortage, our school ended up with only two solid samples of writing that our students completed using the rubric or some form of it prior to writing.

As we were putting this project together, we all realized that we didn’t have the time we really needed to develop a proper writing project and rubric. The fact that this project was basedonathemearoundatimeofyear(Christmas)meantthatwehadtocompletetheprojectbeforethatspecialoccasionwasover.Inthefuture,wewillavoidstoriesbasedonspecial occasions in the year so that we can have more time to prepare and allow students more time tofinish.Itisalsoimportanttoclearlycommunicateourgoalstotheentirestaffandtoeachother,sothatwecaneffectivelycommunicateourexpectationstoourstudents.Ifwedon’tknowwhat’sexpected,wecanhardlyexpectourstudentstoknow.

Working Together as a StaffBefore actually giving the Christmas prompt to the children, the three of us felt that

weneededtofinisharubricthatwasoriginallymeanttobegiventoallthechildren.Unfortunately,wedidnothaveenoughtimetodevelopthatportionofit.Wedid,however,finishaGrade3–levelrubricforteachers.Wegaveacopyofittoallourteachersandaskedthem to develop a similar one for their own grade level.

Priortoassigningthewritingproject,wediscussedwaysofintroducingit.Onesuggestionwastohavethestudentsbringintheirsentences.Wenolongerfeltthatwecompletelyunder-stood what we wanted from the children, even with the rubric.

Withrespecttoourrubric,mostofthechildren’sstorieswereexcellentintheareasoforganization,clarityandcontent.However,moststorieslackedoriginality,unlessstudentshadplanned or done something out of the ordinary with their families on a given Christmas Day.

Developing rubrics through collaboration is a means not an end in itself. Would you agree?

Summary and ConclusionsBev Fune, Kindergarten (Amy)

The process of improving student writing is not linear. Things progress at a slow and, hopefully,steadyspeed.Therefore,donotexpecttoproceedbyhugeleapsandbounds.Instead,celebratesmallsteps.

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Rubrics helped in some ways but limited us in others. They are best used as a tool. The more information in them for later grades, the more effective they are as an assessment tool for teachersandstudentsalike.

Studentsneedmeaningfulfeedback.Theyalsoneedopportunitiestodiscussthefeedbackandreflectbasedonspecificcriteria.

Somethingsworkedinspiteofwhatwedidratherthanbecauseofwhatwedid—workingasateam,usingeachother’sstrengthsandknowledge,sharingwitheachotherallhelped.

Anothertoolthatsomeoftheteachersareusingtohelpimprovestudentwritingis6+1WritingTraits.

Thekeyiscollaboration—workingtogethertounpackthecurriculum,towrite“Ican”statements, to assess the children’s writing. The discussion with colleagues was invaluable, becauseoftensomeonewouldnoticesomethingthatothershadnot.Furthermore,IwasabletocollaboratewiththeGrade1teacher,whoisnotpartofthisproject—itwasimportantthatweget together and set criteria for our grade levels.

Clearly,assessmentforlearningisimportantforstudentlearning,successandstudentself-evaluation,andclearexpectationsandfeedbackareanimportantpartofit.

HLATmaterialswereveryusefulforKandGrade1,becausetheyoutlinedthecurricu-lumexpectations,andthedialoguethatwaswrittenforeachexpectationwaseffective.Thestudentswereabletolookatthecriteriaandchecktoensurethattheyhadincludedthemintheir writing or drawing projects.

Karen Gloin, Grade 3 (Eden)Whenwedecidedtorewriteusingapictureprompt,Irefocusedonmyoriginalideathat

cleartargetsshouldbegivenatthebeginningofthewritingtask.Iconcentratedonbreakingdownthepartsofastoryandemphasizedthenecessaryqualitiesofeachpart.Afterread-ing and comparing many stories, as a class we developed criteria for good story beginnings, middlesandends.Ithenaskedtheclasstomeetthesecriteriawhenwritingtheirownstories.Mytargetedstudent’swritingimprovedonlymarginally.AndIwasdismayedtoseemanyofthestrongwritersnegativelyaffectedbythesecriteria—intheirattemptstoconformtothecri-teria,theysimplyaddedinsignificantdetails.Theflowoftheirstorieswasinterruptedbecausetheydidn’tknowhowtoinclude,forexample,adescriptionofthecharactersthatsoundedasthoughitshouldbethere.Inlightofthis,Iseenowthatdifferentiatingexpectationsandinstructiondependingonstudents’abilitiesiscritical.Writingisatrickythingtoteach.Havinga regimented set of guidelines may well help those who struggle in their writing, but stronger writers can pull off a good piece without any guidelines.

Ontheroad,Idiscoveredthatittakesmanymistakestocometoan“Aha!”moment.IamhappytosaythatIhadmanyofthesemoments,althoughmostofthemdidnotnecessarilyrelatetomytargetstudent.Isthistosaythatthesemomentshadnoimpactonthisstudentorothersinmyclassroomorschool?Notatall.Andthatiswhatmostexcitesme.It’sbecauseofthese“Aha!”moments,mostofwhichoccurredasaresultofthisproject,thatIamexcitedabout my future impact.

Thisprojecthashelpedstaffmakeimportantdiscoveriesaboutplanningthathaveindirectlyimproved student writing. Furthermore, the whole process of searching for answers, clues and motives—despitetheoccasionalconfusion,disjointednessandtangents—hasdefinitelyledtocriticaldiscussionandaheightenedawarenessoftheimportanceofopen,honesttalkabouthow we as a school and as teachers need to improve.

As for progress, the outcome of this project was the biggest area of success for me. Had these challenges not occurred, the depth and breadth of learning and realizations along thewaywouldnothavehappenedeither.Thisprojectaffirmedtheimportanceofaclearly articulated goal and the necessity of narrowing the scope of broader goals. Stemming from

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thisentireprocess,Idiscoveredtheundeniablevalueoftryingnewthings,ofsharingwithcolleagues the successes and the disappointments, of putting aside fear of judgment and of revealingourinadequaciestochangehowwereachandteachourstudents.Comingtotherealization that all teachers struggle with assessment for learning and with lowering our guard enabled us to see whether or not what we do as educators helps our students to meet therequirementsorexceedthem.Sharing,planningandconsistentlymeetingwithcolleaguesmade us more accountable.

Maria Sehn, Grade 2/3 (Liam and Eric)WhatIlearnedwasthatusingpartsofarubricmaybehelpfulduringtheprocessoflearn-

ing writing, but the entire rubric would be more useful as a summative assessment tool.Ialsolearnedthateachstudentmustbetreatedasanindividual.Theoutcomesfromthe

curriculum serve as a guideline, but each child has different abilities. Both the teacher and the student need to have clear goals to effectively teach and learn as they progress from one goal to another.

What We LearnedWequicklysawthattherubricwasbynomeansthekeytodevelopinggoodwriters,but

merely a tool to that end. A rubric must be developed with a very clear intent of its end pur-pose.Itmustbeusedforaspecificpurpose,eithersummative,togaugewherestudentsareat,orformative,asafunctionaltoolforstudentuse.WedevelopedasummativerubricwithatentativepurposetoassembletherequirementsandexpectationsofGrade3writinginrubricform.

The rubric seemed so huge, and the students hadn’t been taught everything from it yet. Itwasn’tuntilourMarchmeetingwithourgroupthatIrealizedthatjustbecausethewholerubricwascompletedandavailabledidn’tmeanIhadtouseit.Ilearnedthatusingpartsofarubric might be helpful when teaching writing, but the entire rubric would be more useful as anend-of-yearsummativeassessmenttool.Givingstudentsoneaspectofwritingonwhichtofocusandtopractiseisonekeytotheirdevelopinggoodwritingskills.

To what degree are “off-the-shelf” rubrics more of a help than hindrance in trying to develop a shared understanding of what determines quality writing?

Giving students

one aspect of

writing on which

to focus and to

practise is one

key to their

developing good

writing skills.

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Grade 3

Excellent Proficient Skilled Emerging

Audience appeal The reader’s interest is maintained throughout the writing.

The reader’s interest is maintained through most of the writing.

The reader’s interest is maintained some of the time.

The reader’s interest is not maintained.

Content planning All ideas are on topic.

Detailsarespecificand consistently effective.

Many ideas are on topic.

Detailsarespecificand generally effective.

Some ideas are on topic.

Details are general and may be predictable, but are appropriate.

Few ideas stay on topic.

Details are few and may be repetitive.

Vocabularyandusage

Wordsarewellchosenandused effectively.

Avarietyofwell-chosenwordsadd interest and detail.

Common or ordinary words are used to add interest and detail.

Choice of vocabulary is limited and words are misused.

Organization and clarity

Followsalogical,sequentialorder.

The beginning, middle and end are clearly developed and capture the reader’s interest.

Mostly follows a logical, sequentialorder.

Beginning, middle and end are well developed.

Sometimesfollowsalogical,sequentialorder.

The beginning, middle and end are present, but merely present information

Doesnotfollowalogical,sequentialorder.

Beginning, middle and end are unclear, missing or present little information.

Sentence structure Sentence beginnings are consistently varied.

Allsentencesexpresscompletethoughts.

Sentence beginnings are often varied.

Mostsentencesexpresscomplete thoughts.

Sentence beginnings are sometimes varied.

Somesentencesexpresscompletethoughts.

Sentence beginnings have little or no variety.

Fewsentencesexpresscompletethoughts.

Mechanics: spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization

End punctuation and capitalization are correct.

All words are spelled correctly.

Errors that are present do not affect the clarity or effectiveness of communication.

End punctuation and capitalization are correct most of the time.

Most words are spelled correctly.

Errors that are present may occasionally affect the clarity or effectiveness of communication.

End punctuation and capitalization are sometimes correct.

Most familiar words are spelled correctly; unfamiliar words may be spelled phonetically.

Errors that are present often affect the clarity or effectiveness of communication.

End punctuation and capitalization when present are inconsistent.

Mostwordsaremisspelledand/orspelledphonetically.

Errors interfere with the clarity of communication.

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Grade 3

Excellent Proficient Skilled Emerging

Audience appeal The reader’s interest is maintained throughout the writing.

The reader’s interest is maintained through most of the writing.

The reader’s interest is maintained some of the time.

The reader’s interest is not maintained.

Content planning All ideas are on topic.

Detailsarespecificand consistently effective.

Many ideas are on topic.

Detailsarespecificand generally effective.

Some ideas are on topic.

Details are general and may be predictable, but are appropriate.

Few ideas stay on topic.

Details are few and may be repetitive.

Vocabularyandusage

Wordsarewellchosenandused effectively.

Avarietyofwell-chosenwordsadd interest and detail.

Common or ordinary words are used to add interest and detail.

Choice of vocabulary is limited and words are misused.

Organization and clarity

Followsalogical,sequentialorder.

The beginning, middle and end are clearly developed and capture the reader’s interest.

Mostly follows a logical, sequentialorder.

Beginning, middle and end are well developed.

Sometimesfollowsalogical,sequentialorder.

The beginning, middle and end are present, but merely present information

Doesnotfollowalogical,sequentialorder.

Beginning, middle and end are unclear, missing or present little information.

Sentence structure Sentence beginnings are consistently varied.

Allsentencesexpresscompletethoughts.

Sentence beginnings are often varied.

Mostsentencesexpresscomplete thoughts.

Sentence beginnings are sometimes varied.

Somesentencesexpresscompletethoughts.

Sentence beginnings have little or no variety.

Fewsentencesexpresscompletethoughts.

Mechanics: spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization

End punctuation and capitalization are correct.

All words are spelled correctly.

Errors that are present do not affect the clarity or effectiveness of communication.

End punctuation and capitalization are correct most of the time.

Most words are spelled correctly.

Errors that are present may occasionally affect the clarity or effectiveness of communication.

End punctuation and capitalization are sometimes correct.

Most familiar words are spelled correctly; unfamiliar words may be spelled phonetically.

Errors that are present often affect the clarity or effectiveness of communication.

End punctuation and capitalization when present are inconsistent.

Mostwordsaremisspelledand/orspelledphonetically.

Errors interfere with the clarity of communication.

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These are the criteria Karen’s class developed together.

Good Story Beginnings

Criteria Details

1.Setting Includewhenandwherethestorytakesplace.

2.Characters Includethenamesofthecharacters.Describe their character traits.

3.Problem,challengeorwish Mention or hint at the problem, challenge or wish.Makeitclear.Makeitinterestingormagical.

Good Story Middles

Criteria Details

1.Builduptheproblem,challengeorwish Develop it clearly and fully.Itmustbeunderstandabletothereader.

2.Events Describe the events fully.Maketheminteresting.Takecaretoputtheminlogicalorder.

Good Story Endings

Criteria Details

1.Mustsolvetheproblem,dealwiththewish or challenge

Must solve the problem, answer the wishortakecareofthechallengeinawaythatmakessense.

2.Events Details of how the problem gets solved must be in logical order.Makeitinteresting.

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Horace Allen

School

Horace Allen School

Livingstone Range School Division

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Celebrate!By Cherry Carl

How do we honour the very young child?

Theeagerexplorer,sowigglyandwild?

Ifwelookwecanseethateachoneisyearning

Forthatpatonthebacktocelebratelearning.

Buttrustisamustifwe’reseekingsuccess

Whenweaskourstudentstoself-assess.

Wemustteachthemandreachthemtoshowthatwecare

As they learn to listen, to respect, and to share.

Afewfeartherisks,thereluctantandshy,

But we’ve got to give them the freedom to try.

And in the end they can cry out loud,

“I’velearnedalotandIamproud!”

—Reprinted with permission of the author

PRETExT

Our SchoolHorace Allen School, which sits near the base of the Crowsnest Mountain, in Coleman,

Alberta,wasbuiltin1963.TheschoolisnamedafterHoraceAllen,thefirstprincipalofthisschool.

Originally, Horace Allen was a high school. To accommodate changing population needs, however,theschoolwasreconfiguredasaGrades3and4schoolforseveralyears.In2003,renovationswerecompleted,andHoraceAllenbecameakindergartentoGrade3school.

HoraceAllenSchoolservesthecommunitiesofColeman,Blairmore,Frank,BellevueandHillcrest, in the Livingstone Range School Division. These communities are all situated along Highway3,westofPincherCreek,andarepartofthemunicipalityoftheCrowsnestPass(CNP),whichisinthesouthwestcornerofAlberta.Thismountaincommunityisahistoricmining town, and indeed, coal mining continues to be the main economic activity. Historically, becauseofthelowcostofliving,theCNPareawashometosingle-parentandlow-incomefamilies.However,theareaiswidelyusedforrecreationalpurposes,includingquadding,snowmobiling,hunting,fishing,camping,andcross-countryanddownhillskiing.Thecom-munity is currently in transition, as property is being purchased and developed for recreation-alandweekenduse,andpropertyvaluesareincreasingdramatically.AllthreeschoolsintheCNPareaareexperiencingdeclineinenrolment.Theschoolservesapopulationoflong-timelocal families, and a few families that have moved to the area from larger urban centres.

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Our StudentsTheschoolpopulationiscurrentlybrokendownasfollows:40kindergartenstudents,45

Grade1students,52Grade2sand66Grade3s,foratotalof203students.Ofthesestudents,fourareEnglishassecondlanguage(twoCanadianbornandtwoforeignborn),sixstu-dents are coded with severe learning disabilities, and two are coded with mild and moderate learning disabilities.

Our Research QuestionTheteam’sactionresearchquestionwas:How can a clinical focus on the literacy development of

one student enhance my assessment practices?

Team Members

ConTExTThefollowingconditions,whichexistedintheschoolbeforetheprojectbegan,influenced

how the project unfolded.

Materials and Classroom Practice• Weusedbasalreadersbecauseofalackofotherresources.

• WeusedGates-MacGinitieandtheAlbertaDiagnosticReadingProgramforassessment.

Team members (left to right): Karen Cox, Bonnie Spahmann, Lenore Tarcon and Pam Reed (principal)

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• Therewasnocommonliteracyblockorcommon-denominatormaterials.

• Wehadaschoolwidereadingtimethatobligatedustostopwhateverweweredoingataprescribed time.

• Weimplementedseveraltimetablingchanges:insteadofabellringingevery40minutes,wehavenobells,exceptforrecess,lunchtimes,entryanddismissal.Acommonliteracyblockhasbeenestablishedinthemorning,andourafternoonPE/library/musicscheduleisbasedon30-minuterotationsratherthan40minutes,asitwasinthepast.

• Classroomuseofportfolioswasnotsystematic.

• Wehadestablishedschoolwideliteraturethemesforeachmonthandweeklyliteraturecontests.

• Wedidassessmentoflearningbasedlargelyontestingandquizzes.

• Wehadsmallclassroomlibraries;classeswerescheduledintolibraryforonebookexchangeperweek.

• Artclasseswerenotliteraturebased.

• Wedidnotuseexemplars,rubricsorperformanceassessment.

Students• Studentswerenotactivelyengagedingoalsettingandself-assessment.

• Studentswerenotexpectedtoattendparent–teachermeetings,andnotallparentswereinvitedtoattendtheNovemberandMarchinterviews,onlytheparentsof“problem”students.

Staff• WehadonenewstaffmemberwhohadnevertaughtGrade2before,anewGrade3teacher,

oneteacherwithoneyearofexperienceinGrade2andanewprincipalwithoneyearofexperience.Infact,teachersarestilladjustingtothechangeofadministrationthatoccurredlast year.

• Staffwerecollegialbutnotcomfortabletakingriskswitheachother.Welackedafeelingofbeing a true school community.

• Teachersdidnotknowwhattouseforassessingstudentreading,andnotallteacherswereable to locate a copy of the program of studies for language arts. However, each teacher receivedacollectionofprofessionalbooksonliteracyandassessmentinthespringof2006.

Project History and GoalsAt the beginning of the project, the team members were unfamiliar with

how to develop rubrics and also with the range of assessment tools that were available. The concept of assessment forlearningwasstillunfamiliar.Wewerequitesurprisedattheextenttowhichstudentscouldbeinvolvedintheirownassessment—andthevalueofhavingthemdoso.Wewerenotentirelycertainaboutwhatmakesastudentatriskinliteracyorthatweshouldbedevelopinga common assessment language with the students.

Initially,wewereconcernedaboutnotbeingabletomeetourgoals.WewerealsoconcernedaboutwhatkindofsupportwewouldgetfromtheATA

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andtheAAC,andwhetherornotwewouldgetbuy-infromteachers.Aswithanyeducationalproject in schools, we were also concerned about having enough time to implement new read-ingandassessmenttools.Finally,wewereconcernedaboutourstudents—wouldthesenewmaterials and methods positively or negatively affect their scores? Robert Hogg, of the AAC, toldusthatitiscommonforscorestodecreasethefirstyearthatnewmethodsaretried.

Still,wecouldseethatthisprojectwouldcoincidenicelywithourAISIproject,andbecauseteachersarealwayslookingforwaystoimprovestudentlearning,wewereenthusiasticaboutthe project and went into it hoping to gain a thorough understanding of assessment for learn-ingandbalancedliteracy,andtoimplementpracticesthatreflectthisunderstanding.Wealsohopedtoattainathoroughknowledgeoftheprogramofstudiesforlanguageartsandplannedto base our planning and instruction on this document, rather than on teacher guides from reading series.

Wewantedallstudents,notjustthosetargetedintheproject,toexperiencesuccessandgainaloveofreading,writing,listening,viewing,speakingandrepresentingthatwouldbe embedded in practice not only in language arts but across the curriculum.

What challenges do you anticipate from the team’s decision to include all students in this project? Would a focus on a few students have been more manageable?

Finally,wehopedthatwewouldfindjoyinthejourneyuponwhichourschoolwasembarking,thatteacherswouldacceptthechallengetostepoutoftheircomfortzone,andthatthe value of the project would be evident in increased student learning.

How Was the Team Brought Together?The teachers involved in this project would have to be committed and would also have to be

aroundforawhile.Theyhadtobeenergeticpeopleopentotryingnewthings.IgaveacopyoftheproposaltoLenoreTarcon,KarenCoxandBonnieSpahmann.Theyexpressedinterest,andoneofthemaskedspecificallyabouttimecommitment.IrealizedthenthattheyneededtobeatthemeetingtoseethecorrelationbetweenourAISIprojectandthepilotproject.WemetforhalfanhourbeforemeetingwithJean-ClaudeCouture,oftheATA,andRobertHogg,oftheAAC.

HoraceAllenSchoolbecameinvolvedbecauseStephenHarrissentadminane-mail.HefeltthatthisprojectwouldcorrelatenicelywithourAISIproject.Iwholeheartedlyagreed.IdecidedthatIneededtobeinvolvedformyownaccountabilitytotheschoolandthestaff.

How Were the Students Selected?Wechosethestudentswhomightbeatriskfordelayedliteracydevelopmentbasedonthe

following indicators:

• Theywereachievingbelowthe49thpercentileincomprehensionontheGates-MacGinitiereading test.

• TheywereachievingbelowgradelevelexpectationsontheAlbertaDiagnosticReadingAssessment.

• Studentsurveyresultsindicatedthattheydonotliketoreadorwrite.

We wanted

all students,

not just those

targeted in

the project,

to experience

success and

gain a love of

reading, writing,

listening,

viewing,

speaking and

representing

that would be

embedded in

practice not only

in language arts

but across the

curriculum.

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• Theyshowedinconsistentparticipationinhomereadingprograms(indicatorofpoorparentsupport).

• Theyusedonlyoneortworeadingstrategies(accordingtoteacherrecords).

• Theirwritingwasbelowgrade-levelexpectations(usinglanguageartscurriculumexemplars).

• Theyshowedveryfewinterests(thisinformationwasgarneredfromparentsurveysandteacherobservations).

• Theydisplayedverbalskillsandshortattentionspans(asperteacherobservationsand anecdotalrecords).

• Theyappearedtobeignorantoftheirweaknessesandfailedtomakethelinkbetweenmakingerrorsandusingthoseerrorstolearn,despitedailyconferencingaboutthiswithteachers(thisinformationgarneredfromteacherobservationandanecdotalrecords).

Karen Cox, Grade 2 (Ryan)RyanisaGrade2studentwhoisnotacademicallyinclined.Hockeyishislife,althoughhis

interests are beginning to broaden. His parents support and encourage his sports activities. His motherreportsthatsheisconcernedabouthisreadingability.Hescoredinthe27thpercentileonthespring2006Gates-MacGinitietestingforreadingcomprehension.InSeptember2006hisscoreforinstructionlevelaccordingtotheAlbertaDiagnosticKitwasmid–Grade1.HissightvocabularyontheDolchlist(secondlevel)Part1was37/44(notmastered).InSeptemberhewroteonesentenceinhisjournal,anditwasnotstructurallysound.Despitethis,Ryanthinksthat he is a good reader and writer.

WhenIchooseabookforRyan,hedoesread.ThebooksIchoosearehighinterest,lowvocabulary.Whenhechoosesabookforhimself,itishighinterestbutoftentoohard,orfullof facts. As for home reading, Ryan is on the eighth story, while the majority of his classmates areonthetenth.Withrespecttoreadingskills,Ryanreadswordbywordandusesphonics.Inwriting, he often fails to use capital letters or punctuation, often spells phonetically, and writes complete simple sentences most of the time.

Ryandisplaysfewinterestsotherthanhockeyandhunting.Hehasweakverbalskills,a limited vocabulary and does not use descriptive words. He has a normal attention span and doesnotappeartobeawareofanyweaknesses.Somehowhedoesnotmakethelinkbetweenmakingerrorsandimproving,despitedailyconferencingaboutthiswiththeteacher.Heisproudofhisworkaslongashewritesneatly.Ryanisbeginningtorereadselectionshestruggleswithindependentlyandtoaskquestions.

Bonnie Spahmann, Grade 2 (Debbie)Debbieisabubblyandenthusiasticeight-year-oldGrade2girl.Sheliveswithhermother

andyoungersister,andvisitsherbiologicalfathereveryotherweekend.Herfatherhasexpressedconcern,throughhermother,aboutherpoorreadingskills.HehastoldDebbie’smotherthathe’dlikeDebbietogotoSylvanLearningCentrethissummer.IhavenotmetorspokentoDebbie’sfather.

Debbie is happy and enjoys school. She has told me several times this year that she loves school and that it is her favourite place. She also loves music, dancing, aerobics, reading, writing stories and animals, especially dogs.

WhenImetDebbieinSeptember2006,shewasnotconfidentinherabilitytoreadandhadapoorself-imageasareader.Hercomprehensionwasbelowgradelevelaswasherspell-ing, and she used inventive spelling in her journal. She responded to praise and needed lots

71


of encouragement and opportunities to read. She arrived at school tired and seemed to have difficultyfocusingonherschoolwork.

InOctober,Debbiewasstillhavingdifficultyfocusingindependentlyandneededtobekeptontrack.Shewaseasilydistractedandoftenwanderedaroundtheclassroomsocializing.Shedidnotliketobetoldtodoherwork.

Debbielackedabasicknowledgeofphonics,herdecodingskillswerenotdevelopedandheroralreadingwasatalow-tomid-Grade1level.

Debbiehashadlittleexposuretoliteratureorreadingathome.Shedidnotknowor recognize many basic nursery rhymes or children’s stories, and her family did not participate inmyhomereadingprogram,eventhoughIencouragedthemtodoso.Debbietoldmethatshedoesnotliketoreadbecauseshecan’tdoitwell.Shedoesliketowritesto-ries,andhaslotsofstoriestorecount,butonlywhenIhelpherspellthewords.IbeganahomereadingprograminNovember,andDebbieistheonlystudentwhohasnotreturnedonestoryyet.Ihavephonedhermotherandwrittenherseveral notes, but have not received a response. This parent did not attend the Novemberparent–teacherconferencesanddidnotrespondtomymessageabout rescheduling.

Debbietriestosoundoutorevenmemorizewords.Shehasdifficultyunder-standingvocabularyincontext,hasaveryshortattentionspanandmemory,andhasalimitedvocabulary.Shedeliberatesbeforespeaking.

Debbiedoesnotappeartobeawareofherweaknessesandfailstomakethelinkbetweenmakingerrorsandimproving.Shestartseachdaywithoutconsideringwhatwaslearnedthepreviousdayorwhatisexpectedofher.Sheappearstobelistening,butwhenItalkwithher,shewilloftenaskmewhatsheissupposedtodooraskmetorepeatsomething.Hermothertellsmethatherhearingisfine,butIthinksheshouldseeapediatriciantomakesurethatsheisin good health.

DebbiehadaGates-MacGinitiescoreof27thpercentile.HerGrade2di-agnosticreadingscorewasmid–Grade1.Hermathskillswerebelowgradelevelaswell.HerGrade2reportcardidentifiedoralreading,comprehension,wordattackskillsandspellingasproblemareas.Duringthefirstsemesterweworkeddailyon vocabulary, spelling, phonics, comprehension and oral reading. Debbie’s attitude improved whenIgavehersuggestionsonhowtoapproachreading.Shehasbecomeveryinterestedinbooksandlovestobereadto.Hercomprehension,however,remainsanareaofconcern.Shehasdemonstratedakeenefforttolearnhowtoreadandtriestousethestrategieswehave developed, but she needs lots of repetition and practice to retain reading vocabulary and to comprehend what she reads. She reverses letters, whole words and sometimes whole sentences.

SinceSeptember,shehasdevelopedmoreself-confidenceandunderstands,throughself-reflection and discussions with me, that she needs to focus and concentrate. She needs concise step-by-stepinstructions,andworksbestwhenhertimeisstructuredandsupervised.Sheiseasilydistractedwhensheworksinsmallgroups.

Debbiehas,however,startedtoselfmonitorandtotakeriskswhilereading.Shehas become more comfortable reading aloud or reading with a partner. She particularly enjoys reading with me.

Lenore Tarcon, Grade 3 (Randy)InSeptember2006RandywasassignedtomyGrade3classroom.Cumulativefileswere

examinedtoidentifythetargetstudents(between25thand49thpercentileonthepreviousyear’sGates-MacGinitieReadingTest).IchoseRandybecausehescoredinthe38thpercentile

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rankontheGates-MacGinitie.RandywasnotparticularlyinterestedinreadingandoftenpretendedtobereadinginsmallgroupsorduringtheDEARprogram.Hisself-esteemwaslow,andhewouldoftenasktoleavetheroomorgotohiscubbyifhethoughthewouldbeaskedaquestion.

Randywasveryinterestedinsports,especiallyoutdooractivitiessuchashockeyandsoccer.Randyspokelittleaboutwhathewasdoinginschoolwhenasked—sportsseemedtobetheonlythingthathefocusedon.Indeed,heknewalotaboutsportsandcouldrecitemanyplayerand team names.

Randy’sworkhabitswereverypoor,andheputlittleeffortintohiswork;heoftenfailedtocompletehomeworkandclassroomassignments.ReadingInventoryshowedhiscleardislikefor reading. This inventory was placed in his portfolio.

Randywasawareofhisweaknessesandviewedhimselfasaveryinadequatereader.DuringourintakeinterviewshestatedthatoneofhisgoalswastobeabetterreaderandwriterinGrade3.Thiswouldbeagoalthatteachers,parentsandRandyhimselfcouldfocuson together throughout the school year.

Karen Cox, Grade 2 (Ryan)Ryan had three goals:

1. ToenjoyfiguringoutallthewordsinhisDEARbookforoneweek

2. Toget20/20onhismadminutebyMay9

3. TothinkaboutwhathereadfortwoweeksWithrespecttohisfirstgoal,Ryanwasmoreconscientiousofwhatbookshechosefor

DEAR.Hissecondgoalrelatedtomathematicsandmadememorereflectiveofwhatworkhecouldusetoassesshissuccess.Toaccomplishhisthirdgoal,Isuggestedthathekeepareadingjournal so that he could record what up until then he had only been verbalizing.

IemployedthestepsoutlinedinThe One Minute Teacher: How to Teach Others to Teach Themselves,bySpencerJohnsonandConstanceJohnson.Thesestepsaregoalsetting,praiseandrecovery.FollowingthemhelpedRyantakemoreresponsibilityforhislearning.Indoingso, he was able to note when his behaviour was not supporting his goal and to verbalize how he needed to change that behaviour.

Ryan is now writing three or four sentences at a time, though he often repeats what he has written using slightly different words.

RyanparticipatedinaParentsinPartnershiptutoringprogram.Helovedthehockeystoryhemadewithapeerandwasveryproudtoshareitwithhisclassmates.Ihadtokeepitatschoolsohecoulduseitforhisshowandtell.Whataconfidencebooster!

Ryanalsostrugglestoassesspeers’writtenwork.Ifheisinterestedinthesubject,heautomaticallysaysthewritingisgood.Whenprompted,hedoessuggestideasfordetailsthatcouldhavebeenaddedtoagivenstory,buthedefinitelyneedsmorepracticeassessingwrittenwork.

AnotherstrategythathasgivenRyanconfidenceandincreasedhisfluencyandcompre-hensionistoread,rereadandthenparaphrasewhatwasread.Ibelievethatthisstrategywilleventuallyhelphiminhiswrittenworkaswell.

Ryan’s May 2007 ResultsAlbertaDiagnosticInventory:Instructionallevel:EndofGrade2(mid–Grade1inOctober

test)Dolchlist:Masteryofsecondlevel:Parts1,2,3and4(previouslyfailedtomasterpart1)Flynt-CooterReadingInventory:Adequatesilentreadingcomprehensionandoralreading

accuracy:Level3.

Another strategy

that has given

Ryan confidence

and increased

his fluency and

comprehension

is to read,

reread and then

paraphrase what

was read.

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Anotherpositivedevelopmentisthat,althoughIconcentratedonRyan’sreadingcompre-hension,otherstudents,someofwhomhadlowerabilitiesthanhe,havebenefitedbecausethey were able to participate in many of the activities that helped Ryan.

Bonnie Spahmann, Grade 2 (Debbie)InDecember,IgavetheAlbertaDiagnosticReadingProgramcomprehensiontest,and

Debbiescoredmid–Grade1.Sheiskeenontryingtoworkindependently.Shelikespoetrybuthasdifficultyidentifyingwordsthatrhyme.Sheisstartingtowriteshortstories.DebbiehasaPartnershipApproachtoLiteracy(PAL)tutoronceaweek.Shelovesthis;ithasbecomeaconfidenceboosterandgiveshersomethingtolookforwardto.

InJanuary,though,Debbiesufferedasetback,probablyduetotheholidaysandalackofstructureandrepetitionthatwehadbeforeChristmas.Ithastakenawhileforhertoadjusttoroutineagain.Sheseemscompletelyunawarethatsheneedstosettleinandcontinueherworkin school. She needs to follow directions more consistently. She is having some problems with friendsandclassmatesthatareinterferingwiththelearningprocess.Unfortunately,Iseelittleevidence of support from home.

Iimplementedacombinationofthefollowingstrategies:

• conversationswithDebbieandwithmycolleagues;

• structure,repetitionandreinforcement;

• checklists;and

• differentiatedteachingstrategies,whichinvolvesuchthingsasroleplaying,peerteaching,individualinstruction,small-andlarge-groupinstructionandportfolios.Inaddition,Iinstitutedasystemofgoalsetting,wherebyeachstudentsetsadailygoal.

Debbie always had the willingness to learn and improve. She wants to be a good reader and has demonstrated a sincere effort to do her best. Debbie has had a parent tutor this year and hasenjoyedtheexperience.Shelovestoreadandplaygameswithhertutor.ShealsolovestowritestoriesinclassandonStoryBookWeaver.Shechoosestoreadoverotheractivitiessuchas drawing, Lego and puzzles.

Insteadofclaimingignorance,Debbieisstartingtoaskforassistanceandtoseekclarifica-tionifsheisuncertain.Sheisstartingtotaketimetothinkaboutinformationreceivedbeforesaying she doesn’t understand it.

ByFebruaryof2007,Debbiestartedtoself-correctandtoaskforhelpspellingunfamiliarwords.Sheisusingherpersonaldictionarymoreandisdemonstratingakeenunderstandingthatsheneedstotakeownershipofherownlearning.

ByApril,Debbiewaskeepingfocusedforlongerperiodsoftimeandgettingherworkdone.She was very proud of herself and said how much she loved school. She is learning to associ-atenewinformationwithinformationpreviouslylearnedandismakingconnections.Sheisstarting to problem solve, and her oral reading, spelling and comprehension have improved.

Someofthekeymomentsofchangeformeoccurredwhen

• IfeltIhadsomeunderstandingoftheprogramofstudiesandlearneroutcomesforGrade2,asIhadnopreviousexperienceatthatgradelevel,and

• IcollaboratedwithcolleaguestodiscussDebbieandtheimplicationsofthisproject.

Lenore Tarcon, Grade 3 (Randy)AstheschoolyearproceededIbecameconcernedaboutRandy’sreadingandwriting

skills.InOctober2006IadministeredtheAlbertaDiagnosticReadingtest,andRandywasattheInstructionalLevelforGrade3FormALevel1.Randywasthengiventheoptionofusingreadinghighlighters,arrowsandreadingeyestohelpkeephimontrack.Theseitemsseemed

74


toworkwellforhim.Duringthistime,althoughIwasunawareofit,Randywashavingproblemsathomethatwereaffectinghim.Hewashavingalotofdifficultyfocusingandcon-centratingonhiswork.Throughouttheparent–teacher–studentinterviewhismothertoldmeaboutthedomesticsituation,andItoldherthatwewouldcontinuetomonitorhisprogress.Weagreedtokeepeachotherinformedabouthappenings.

InDecemberandJanuaryRandystartedtoshowamorepositiveattitudetowardreadingand writing. He had started to participate in the home reading program. Also, his reading attitudesurveyhadshownanimprovement—hewasstartingtoshowalikingforreading.Also,heapproachedmeandaskedmeifhecouldtakehomesomeofourclassroomlibrarybooksovertheholidays.Thistookmebysurprise.Afterhereturnedthebooks,ItoldhimhowproudIwasofhim.

His mother informed me that she too was proud of Randy’s accomplishments and that she waspleasedtoseethepositiveattitudeathometowardreading.Itwasn’tastruggleatbed-timetogethimtoread.Randybecamemoreconfidentandwillingtoshareideaswiththeclasswhenasked.Hisreadinglevelswerecontinuallymonitoredthroughdiagnosticreadingandrunning records.

InApril,theFlynt-CooterReadingInventorywascompletedwithanarrativepassage.RandyreadveryfluentlyandscoredFormALevel4attheinstructionallevel.Randyappearedtousethereadingbookmarkertoremindhimofstrategiestouse.Hestoppedandrereadpassagesthatdidnotmakesense.Miscueanalysiswasused.Wediscussedtheerrorstogether.He had a tendency to substitute or omit words when he read orally. Randy appears to do very wellinaone-on-onesituation.Thishelpskeephimfocused.Randywasawareofhisgrowthandwasabletoself-reflectinhisportfolioabouthisgrowth.

A variety of commercially produced diagnostic assessments are being used by teachers in this project. To what degree are these resources helpful to you?

ByMay,Randyappearedtobeinaslump;hewasputtingnoeffortintohisworkandwasn’t very enthusiastic about his learning. He did not perform as well as he had previously onPartAoftheprovincialachievementtestforlanguagearts.Hismotherinformedmethathis father had not been around for the last little while, which might account for the shift in learningattitude.Weagreedtokeepaneyeonhim.

RandywasabsentfortheMay22CanadianAchievementTest(CAT)PartAandB.WhenIcalled his mother, she said that she was unaware of the test but promised that Randy would betherethenextday.Randywasatschoolthenextday,andIadministeredthetest.Partofitwasdoneinthehallwayandtheotherpartoutsidethelibrary.ItwasveryinterestingtowatchRandygothroughthetest.Hewascheckingandrereadingthetextbeforeansweringthequestions.Iwasimpressed.Icouldn’twaittoseehowhehaddone.AndIwaspleasedtoseethatRandyhadmadeconsiderablegrowthbyscoringinthe74thpercentilerank.

IusedanumberofinformalandformalassessmenttoolstotrackRandy’sgrowth:

• Observations—anecdotalnotes

• Checklists

• Homereadingprogram

• Parentsupport/communicationbook(agenda)

• AlbertaDiagnosticReadingInventory

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• FlyntandCooterReadingInventory:NarrativeandExpository

• BriganceComprehensiveInventoryofBasicSkills

• JerryJohnsgradedwordlist

• Readingsurveys(inventory)

• Parentreadingsurvey

• Studentportfolios

• CAT

• PAT

WhenIappliednewteachingstrategiesandmethodswithallofmystudentstobetter understand their learning styles.

MaySchnolleSpelling:2.2

RETExT

Summary and ConclusionsToensurethesuccessofthisproject,weposedthefollowingthreequestionstoourselves:

Whathavewedonetosupportstudentlearning?Whathavewelearnedtosupportstudentlearning?Whatarewegoingtodoaboutwhatwehavelearnedtosupportstudentlearning?

Theanswerstothesequestionsunderscoredourthinkingaboutstudentlearning,andwenowusethesereflectivequestionswhenwemeetasAISIteamsandduringPDsessions.

Werealizedthatouranswerstothesequestionshadtobebasedontherealworldasitplaysoutinourclassroomsandhadtobeinformedbywhatourstudentstellusandshowus.Werealizedthatwehadtorefineourunderstandingofthemeaningofat risk, identify one student toconcentrateonandusethereadingcomprehensionstrategieswiththatonestudent.Were-alized that we had succeeded when one of the target students chose academic goals; in other words,shewassayingthatshewantedtolearn,andnoteachercanaskmorethanthatofastudent.

What We Have LearnedWhenwedissectedthelanguageartscurriculumandsupportingdocumentsandstarted

to investigate our new language arts materials, we increased our success. Family conferences gaveparentsthechancetobemeaningfullyinvolvedintheirchild’seducation.Welearnedthevalueofcelebratingstudentsthroughsuchthingsaspostingstudentworkinthehallways,fo-cusingongoalsettingandworkinghardtocreateapositiveenvironmentforall.

Wealsolearnedthatweneedmeasurablegoals,thatanecdotalrecordsarevalidandthatweneed a better reading survey.

When given the

right chance,

students are

capable of

articulating

their learning.

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Perhapsoneofthemostimportantlessonswasthatweneedclearinformationaboutourstudents and that, when given the right chance, students are capable of articulating their learning.

Inordertocontinuethemomentumofthisproject,weneedto•examinecurriculum,•examineappropriateandcurrentteachingofliteracypractice,•implementmoreformativeassessment,•trytoincreasestudentinvolvementinassessment,and•shareoursuccesses.

The above goals are ambitious efforts to maintain the momentum of the project. What challenges do you see in meeting these goals in your school?

Students are much more aware of their learning and what they can do to improve it. As teachers, we have built a common vocabulary of assessment that we use with all of our stu-dentsandacrossallsubjectareas.Wehavebuiltportfolioswithchildrenandhavefocusedmoreonstudentlearningandstudent-centredinstruction.Westartedincorporatingstudentself-assessmentintoourpracticeacrossallsubjectareas.Weexaminedtheprogramofstud-iesandalignedassessmentwithit.Weexaminedthecurriculumforthegradesbothaboveandbelowourgradelevels,andidentifiedimportantoutcomes.Werealizedthatwewereoveremphasizingsomeoutcomesattheexpenseofsomeothers.Weareworkingonaligningour assessment with the learning outcomes in the Alberta program of studies, and utilizing exemplarsandrubricstoassistuswiththiswork.Weinvestigatedandutilizedresourcesthatarealignedwiththeprogramofstudies,andweaddeddifferentiatedinstructiontechniquesinto our repertoire of teaching strategies.

Building trusting relationships with the community as a whole is another crucial component ofourwork.Student-ledconferencesallowedallofourchildrentocelebratetheirlearningaccomplishmentswiththeirparentsandtosetlearninggoalswiththeminalow-risk,support-iveenvironment.Parentsbecamemorecomfortablecomingtotheschool,asdemonstratedbya95percentattendancerateattheseinterviews,wherewealsopresentedamultimediapre-sentationaboutthesixstrandsofthelanguageartsprogram.Communicationandcollabora-tion among staff are improving, as evidenced by monthly staff meetings, where teachers share ideas,challengesandresourcesandcelebrateaccomplishments.Knowingthechildren,theirbackgrounds,theirinterests,theirlearningstylesandtheirpersonalitiesiscrucialinourwork.Itisimportantthatwetakethetimetomakeconnections,formbonds,andcommunicateourcaringforstudentstobecomfortableandencouragedtotaketheriskstheyneedtotakeinordertolearn.InformalfeedbackfromthecommunityatlargeisthatHoraceAllenSchoolisapositive place for students and families to learn.

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Building Capacity

for Teacher Leadership in

Assessment in Alberta

Schools

Building Capacity for Teacher Leadership in Assessment in Alberta Schools

78


Looking Forward The premise of this project was the realization that while teacher leadership in assessment

isanemergingfocusintheliterature,therearefewsubstantivedocumentedexamplesofthisworkinthecontextofCanadianschools.

Asteachersinthefourschoolsitesexploredtheattributesofliteracydevelopment,theycametorealize,throughthecontinualre-examinationofanddeliberationabouttaken-for-grantedassumptionsaboutthemselvesandtheirpractice,thattheirsenseofefficacyandmakingadifferenceforstudentswasenriched.

Thefourcasestudiesprovidecompellingexamplesthatresonatewithagrowingbodyofresearchonteacherleadershipthatspeakstotheemergentcomplexitiesofcollaborativerelationshipsinpracticalclassroomapplications(Ritchie2007)andquietleadership—helpingpeoplethinkbetterwithouttellingthemwhattodo(Rock2006).Thelivedexperiencesoftheteacherswholabouredthroughquestionssuchas,Canwritingbeassessedbygradelevel?andWhatdoesliteracymeaninaworldofmultiliteracies? cannot be appropriately honoured in a summary of the four school site reports contained in the preceding pages. Rather, what follows are cautionary notes that guide further encounters with schools and jurisdictions that wish toparticipateinthiskindofinquirywithinthefourtextsofactionresearchintheinterestof enhancing teacher leadership in assessment.

Ineachofthefoursites,theemergingformsofteacherleadershipresonatewiththeinternationalworkofNaylor,Alexandrou,GarsedandO’Brien(2008),whichexaminedthe formal and informal ways that teachers are drawn into leadership positions and advocacy roles in their schools and teacher organizations. Their initial observations, clustered around fivethemes,arereflectedinmanyoftheexperiencesreportedbyteachersintheschools:

•Leadershiprolesevolvednaturallyandwerenotplanned.•Leadershipoccurredandevolvedwhentheteachersfeltpassionatelyabouttasksor

approaches that they felt must be completed or addressed.•Leadershipwasnotnecessarilyrecognizedasitwasassumedratherthanproclaimed.•Credibilityamongpeerswascrucialtotakingleadershiproles.Some of the teachers had very positive role models who both modelled leadership and

supported and encouraged teachers to assume particular forms of leadership.The forms of leadership that emerged during the course of this study trace many of these

fivethemes.Thedeliberativeinquiry,imbuedwithinthecollaborativespacesteacherscreated,cannot be reduced to simplistic formulas or best practices. Rather, we share the conclusion withMadelineGrumet(2005,53)thatliteracyfunctionsasawayofbeingintheworldand

Theworldisnotagiventhatwethinkabout.Whatwecanthinkaboutitisaneventthatsubsumesusandtheworld.Weneedtoletlifehappen,bothinsideandoutsideourclassrooms.

Astheprojectunfolded,culminatingintheyear-endwritingretreatinWatertonLakesintheearlysummerof2007,leadershipinassessmentcametobeframedbythreefoundationalprinciples:

1. Commitmenttoindividualstudentsuccessliesatthecoreofourworkinearlyliteracydevelopment.

2. Buildingtheleadershipcapacityofteachersasreflectivepractitionersfocusedonimprovingassessmentpracticesthatreflectthediversityandcomplexityofclassroomsresultsinhigherlevels of student performance.

The deliberative

inquiry, imbued

within the

collaborative

spaces teachers

created, cannot

be reduced

to simplistic

formulas or best

practices.

79


3. Acomprehensive,sustainableandscalableprogramofclassroomassessmentcansupportandimprovethequalityandauthenticityofteacher-managedassessmentandevaluation.

Closing the Literacy Cycle— A Student-Centred Approach

Whilethefourtextsofactionresearchprovidedapowerfulplatformforteacherreflectionon instructional practice, the case study focus on improving student learning remained the driverbehindourwork.Asteachersfocusedonindividualstudentstheneedtomediatethegap between the broad conceptual discussions regarding such concerns as the meaning of literacyandage-appropriatedevelopmentalexpectationsbecameincreasinglyapparent.

Walmsley(2008)hasoutlinedapowerfuldesignmodelforlookingatliteracyprogramsata school and system level. This rather linear and somewhat reductionist model presents a con-ceptualmapforK–12literacyreformhelpingtoclarifyorfocusonimprovingstudentlearning.

Teaching and Organizing

Instruction and Experiences

Articulating Literacy

Attributes

Analyzing Data to Inform

Instruction

Reporting Progress

Assessing Progress

Reporting to parents and the community

about students’ progress toward literacy

attributes.

Whatwewantchildrentoknow,beabletodoandhaveexperienced.

Analyzing literacy data

to inform instruction and

see how best to organize our

instructional programs.

Instructionalcontributions (instruction,experience)

at each grade level ensure

steady progress toward literacy

attributes.

Assistance for struggling

children helps them

acquireliteracyattributes.

Keepingtrackofchildren’s progress toward the literacy

attributes.

AdaptedfromWalmsley2008,3

A System-Centred Framework for Closing the Literacy Circle

Yetastheteachersandexternalcriticalfriends(representativesoftheATA,theAACandAlbertaEducation)movedthroughthefourtextsofactionresearchduringthestudy,thegrowthofteacherefficacyasleaderscontinuedtodeflectfromastraightorpredictablepaththroughtheongoingfocusandreflectionononestudent.Indeed,thefulcrumforourrole

80


ascriticalfriendsintheprojectbecametheongoing(andattimesfrustratingforoursiteteammembers)insistenceondiscussingresponsestothreequestionsintermsofindividualstudents:Whathaveyoudone?Whathaveyoulearned?andWhatwillyoudoaboutit?(adaptedfromDavidTownsendandPamelaAdams,2004).

TheresultingadaptationofWalmsley’smodelrevealsasignificantrefocusingontheimpactofanchoringteacherreflectiononindividualstudents.Thismodifiedmodelsituatesthe student at the centre of the learning cycle and invites a continual recursive move through the interactionswithcolleagues,outsidecriticalfriendsandeffortstoworkwiththestudent.

Five Provocations for a Student-Centred Framework for Closing the Literacy Cycle

Leadershipinassessment,informedbythetextualinterruptionsofthecontinualreturntothespecificityoftheindividualstudent,isawaytodevelopanapproachtoleadershipinassessmentthatrecognizestheoriginaldifficultyofteaching,orwhatSmits(2003)drawsfromJosephDunne’s(1993)evocativephrase,toreturnteaching“backtotheroughground”wheresmoothtrekkingisnotatallguaranteed.

Perhapsnogreaterriskexistsforschoolimprovementeffortsthanthesimplisticappropria-tionoftechniquessuchascollaboration,learningcommunitiesandactionresearchappliedto

Teaching and Organizing

Instruction and Experiences

Articulating Literacy

Attributes

Analyzing Data to Inform

Instruction

Reporting Progress

Assessing Progress

Reporting to parents and the community

about students’ progress toward literacy

attributes.

Whatwewantchildrentoknow,beabletodoandhaveexperienced.

Analyzing literacy data

to inform instruction and

see how best to organize our

instructional programs.

Instructionalcontributions (instruction,experience)

at each grade level ensure

steady progress toward literacy

attributes.

Assistance for struggling

children helps them

acquireliteracyattributes.

Keepingtrackofchildren’s progress toward the literacy

attributes.

AdaptedfromWalmsley2008,3

A Student-Centred Framework for Closing the Literacy Circle

Students

81


interpretingtheresultsofextensivelydevelopedexaminationsoroff-the-shelftests.Coffield(2007)describestheresultsofthese“insidiousprocesses”inEnglandasitmoved“runningeverfasterdownthewrongroad”initsschoolreformefforts.

Smits(2003)compelsustoconsiderthecontinualreturntoafocusontheindividualstudentasa“provocation.”Inhisview,“tobeprovoked is, in literal terms, to be called to something, tobesummonedbysomething.”Inthisrespect,individualstudentsactasabufferorananti-doteto“passingjudgementtooquickly”—whatisatthecoreofhowaprovocationfunctions(Oxford English Dictionary,2324–25).

Throughout the four site reports we see teachers shifting away from technical and epistemologicalconcerns(eg,Howarerubricsused?Whatdotestscoresmean?Whattheoryisthebestonehere?)toontologicalones(eg,Whatdoesitmeantoemploythisparticularpracticewiththisspecificstudent?Whatdoesliteracymeaninthiscontext?).

Thedebateoverwhetherornotteacherprofessionalinquiryandactionresearchisreal research is one that refuses to go away for reasons that have to do with power and economic interest(Maxwell2004;LincolnandCannella2004).Intheirview,againstthegrowingneo-liberaltidethatfocuseson“bestpractices”andnarrowlydefinedlimitsof“whatworks,”teacherresearchisincreasinglymarginalizedbyso-calledscientificcritiquesthathavenothingtodowithscience(Popkewitz2004,63).Typicallythecriticismslevelledagainstteacherresearchfocusonthelackofscalability(ie,Canthisbereplicated?)orvalidity(ie,Didyouconsiderotherfactorsthatmayhaveinfluencedtheoutcome?)

Inwhatfollows,weofferfiveclosingprovocationsthatwillhelptosustaintheconversa-tionsasteacherleadershipdevelopmentworkcontinuesinotherschoolsandjurisdictions.Theseprovocationsareofferedaswaystoarticulatepossibilitiesforfurtherworkwhileavoidingthetemptationtolapseintosimplisticnextstepsorbestpractices.Insteadtheseareofferedasnecessarydifficultiestobewalkedthroughthe“roughground”ofboththeencountersofteacheridentityandtheoriginaldifficultyofteachingpractice.

1. Articulating and mobilizing meaningful indicators and measures of early literacy attributes into instructional expectations is a point of departure—not the ultimate goal.

Forteachers,determiningliteracyattributesisaprocessofongoingculturalmeaning-making,contestation(adisputewherethereisstrongdisagreement) and courageous conversation.Teacherefficacyinleadershipisarecursiveprocesswhereinsertingexternallypredeterminedliteracyattributesintoinstructionalactivitiesandexperiencesslowlyevolvesintodevelopingtheconfidencetoestablishrobust“non-negotiables”(Walmsley2008,2).

Teachingasanintellectualandtheoreticalpursuitcannolongerbeoverlooked;itisthecornerstoneofadvancingprofessionalpractice(Darling-HammondandSykes1999).Certainlythepressuretomeetsomepredeterminedandattimesnarrowlydefinedexternallydevelopedindicatorsofstudentlearning(ie,norm-referencedstandardizedtests)inAlbertaschoolshasnotbeenconduciveattimestofosteringthekindoflearningcultureswhereingenuityandrisk-takingarevaluedinprofessionallearningcommunities.

HargreavesandFink(2006)remindusthatprofessionalinquirythrivesonlyifsupportedbya comprehensive set of supports such as depth and conservation strategies. Depth strategies include considering the need for deep learning in schools by recognizing that inventiveness andingenuityarefosteredthroughattentiontoconservationthrough“slowlearning”focusedonlocallydeterminedprioritiesandneeds.Inthisapproach,reallearningisconnectedtotheemotional engagement as well as the intellectual growth of teachers.

Assessments should become cultural artifacts in a school that are continually the focus of observation, conversation and analysis.

82


2. The leadership skills developed by teachers must be contextualized by the specific realities (ie, pretexts, contexts and subtexts) of their school communities.

Leadership in assessment must be immunized against sloganeering and becoming appropriatedby“leadershipadjectives”thatebbandflowintheliterature(Leithwoodetal,2004a;2004b)suchasdistributed leadership, instructional leadership, and transformational leader-ship.Theliteratureonorganizationalimprovementunderscorestimeandagainthat“itisaboutlearningasacommunity”(Stoll,FinkandEarl2003,132).Collaborativepractitionerresearchapplied in a learning community is more than a clever turn of phrase: in order for schools to learn,communitymustcomefirst.Wemustremindourselvesthatwemustthinkof“learn-ing”and“community”asmultiplepossibilitiesifwearetosucceedinourgoal:“learningof community; learning from community; learning with community; learning for community; and learning as community”(p134).

Iflearningof,from,withandforcommunityisthefulcrumforschooldevelopment,inthecontextofastudent-centredframeworkforclosingtheliteracycycle,teacherresearchmustbeanchored by the need to respond to the immediately given realities of students’ learning needs. Thisisaccomplishedwhileattemptingtoinfluenceandshapethecontextsoflearningandteaching.Reflectionandcritiqueabouttheconditionsthatcreatethelearningenvironmentforstudents(ie,societalcontextssuchaschildhoodpoverty)areamoralnecessity.

Thefourtextsofactionresearchremindusofthedualityofteachers’work:whileteachers’questionsaboutparticularstudents’livesflowtolocalizedproblemsolvinginaparticularset-ting,teacher-leadersinvariablyandquicklyrealizethattheselocalproblemsareinextricablyconnectedtolargersocietalchallengesandsocietalforces(HerrandAnderson2005,67).Fromearly literacy and numeracy development to improving high school completion rates, teacher research is inevitably pulled, as research is in all professions, between traditional patterns of practiceandtheneedtoinnovateandpushfrontiersofteacheridentity(Luce-Kapler1997,2005).

3. While support for teacher leadership development with the assistance of outside critical friends is essential, this work is challenging.

As the four school site projects unfolded, we found our role as the critical friends moved acrossthreeimpulses:evaluation,advocacyandcaring,asdescribedbyMello(2005).Uponeachsitevisitourpersistenceinreturningtothequestions,Whathaveyoudone?Whathaveyoulearned?andWhatwillyoudoaboutit? (adaptedfromDavisTownsendandPamelaAdams,UniversityofLethbridge,2006)wasseenasbothasourceofongoingsupportand(necessary)provocation,challenge,anddifficultyattimes.

Inoursitevisitsandinpreparingthisfinalreport,“closingtheliteracygap”meanslivingthrough the healthy tensions of evaluating, advocating and caring for the site team members and the students involved.

Assessments

should become

cultural

artefacts in a

school that are

continually

the focus of

observation,

conversation and

analysis.

83


The three roles of the external team

Evaluation Advocacy Caring

Keyconcerns JudgingAssessingAchieving targets

ProjectmaintenanceResourceacquisitionWell-beingoftheproject

Support to team membersEmotional stability and growthWell-beingofindividuals

Major activities ReportingTriangulating data

TroubleshootingTechnical support

ListeningReassurance

Typical questioningstrategies

ProbingValidating

Ongoingchecking-inNeedsassessment

InformalnetworkingClarifying

AdaptedfromMello2005

Astheprojectsprogressedandteachersconveyedtheirjourneysthroughthefourtextsof action research, we realized that, despite our somewhat naive efforts, we could not easily shed one role and then adopt another. At all times, we were both insiders and outsiders. The externalmemberssharedaconcernaboutallthreerolesdescribedbyMello(2005).However,eachofushadparticularcorecommitmentsthatwerenon-negotiableor“deal-breakers,”such as the need to ensure that focus of our conversations during team meetings remained on particularstudentsratherthanwaveringintostoriesaboutentireclassesorgroupsof“thosekindsofstudents.”

4. Support for the dissemination of collaborative inquiry projects in literacy development must become a priority in order to build capacity in student assessment. Exemplary assessment practices are one of the best kept secrets in Alberta’s K–12 education system.

Publicationanddisseminationofpublicationsisbothaprofessionalandanethicalimpera-tivethatactionresearchcallsusto.ForseveralyearsJohnWillinskyhasarguedforcefullyforteacherstorecognizethattheproductionanddisseminationofknowledgeaboutwhattheydo is central to their professional responsibilities within an open and democratic society. His workonthePublicKnowledgeProject(http://www.lled.educ.ubc.ca/faculty/willinsky.htm)exemplifiesthekindofcommitmentthatAlbertateachersmustembrace.Beingabletodemon-stratethedifferencethatonemakesinastudent’slearningandlifemightseemtobeataken-for-grantedassumption—yet,asWillinskyasks,howdoweknowthatourschoolcommunitieseffectively communicate this commitment and capacity to the community?

InthecontextofAlberta’sburgeoningpopulationandthegrowingclassroomcomplexityand diversity, teacher research will become vitally important both as an intellectual pursuit and as a moral imperative.

Systematic support for teacher research will help us respond to these challenges and oppor-tunities.AndyHargreaves(2003)remindsusthateducatorsliveinaparadoxicalrelationshipin between the promised land of the knowledge economyandthethreatofitslackof‘‘inclusive-ness,securityandpubliclife,’’andthetendencyofpolicymakerstodefaultto‘‘standardized

84


solutions’’ and best practicesthatignoreschoolcontexts(p10).Teaching in the Knowledge Society pointstothekeyroleofdepthstrategies(ie,focusingonleadershipsuccession,buildingengagementandcommitmenttocorevaluesanddeeplearningacrossthesystem)thatbuildsalocalizedbodyofknowledgethatcanbesharedanddisseminatedbeyondtheschool.Whilethisnewlocalizedknowledgeisworthdisseminatingandwritingabout,itsrealpotencyrestsinitsmobilizationwithinparticularschoolcontexts.

5. Patience is more powerful than brilliance. Asurgeonfriendrecentlyremindedusthatshelearnedearlyoninherpracticethat“we

cannotskillourwayoutoflimitation.”Shewentontodescribeherfrustrationwithinitial“ham-handedattempts”totieoffveinsandarteries—impossiblydifficultuntilonedecidesto“justlikeadog,pickupthisboneandnotletitgo.”ThesocialphilosopherRobertBorgmann(1992)woulddescribethiskindofprofessionalcommitmenttoimprovingone’spracticeas“patientvigourinafocalpractice.”ForBorgmann,thepracticeofprofessionalworkinuncer-tain times calls for a combination of deep emotional engagement in the seemingly invisible thingsthataskilledprofessionaldoeswellandacommitmenttomakingapositivedifferenceinthespecificityofoneindividual’slife.Ofcourse,allofthisislostinthebrilliantglareofcomparing jurisdictional test scores and comparing Alberta students with students from other countries. Leadership in assessment means addressing the needs of each student one at a time.

Leadership for Learning in AssessmentStudentlearningandsuccessareattheheartofleadershipinassessmentand“ifweare

tolearnfromourmistakes,thenwemustbeginourjourneywithanacknowledgementthatwe have an educational Enron waiting to happen if we fail to recognize that the demands of leadershiparemorecomplexthanintimidatingstudentsandteachersintoshort-termtestscoregains”(Reeves2006,3).StudentresultscanbeimprovedthroughapplyingacomprehensiveframeworksuchastheadaptedStudent-CentredFrameworkforClosingtheLiteracyCircle(Walmsley2008)andtheLeadershipforLearningFramework(Reeves2006).

Leadership in

assessment means

addressing the

needs of each

student one at a

time.

85


Leadership for Learning Framework

A

chie

vem

ent o

f R

esu

lts

LuckyHigh results, low understanding

of antecedentsReplicationofsuccessunlikely

[high results, but leaders and teachers areunabletolinkprofessionalpractice

toresultsbecausetheydonotknowhowtheirpracticesinfluenceachievement]

LeadingHigh results, high understanding

of antecedentsReplicationofsuccesslikely

[high results and leaders and teachers are abletolinkprofessionalpracticetoresults

becausetheyknowhowtheirpracticeshaveinfluencedachievement]

LosingLow results, low understanding of

antecedentsReplicationoffailurelikely

[low results and leaders and teachers are clueless about what practices can

influenceachievement]

LearningLow results, high understanding of

antecedentsReplicationofsuccesslikely

[low results, but leaders and teachers are abletolinkprofessionalpracticetoresults

becausetheyknowhowtheirpracticescaninfluenceachievement]

Antecedents of Excellence*

* “Thoseobservablequalitiesinleadership,curriculum,parentalengagement,andotherindicatorsthatassistinunderstandinghowresultsareachieved”(xix)

TheLeadershipforLearningFramework(p133),fromThe Learning Leader: How to Focus School Improvement for Better Results,byDouglasBReeves,Alexandria,VA:ASCD,2006.Adaptedandreprintedbypermission.TheAssociation for Supervision and Curriculum Development is a worldwide community of educators advocating sound policies and sharing best practices to achieve the success of each learner. To learn more, visit ASCD at www.ascd.org.

Itisattheteamlevelthatteachershavethegreatestopportunityforengagement,dialogue,anddecision-making.Whenteachershavecollaborativelystudiedthequestionof“Whatmustourstudentslearn,”whentheycreatedcommonformativeassessmentsas a team to monitor student learning on a timely basis, and when they have promised each other to teach essential content and prepare students for assessments, they have exponentiallyincreasedthelikelihoodthattheagreed-uponcurriculumwillactuallybetaught.

Eaker,DuFourandDuFour(2007,58)

Whilewerealizethatteacherleadershipinassessmentcontinuestobeanemergingfocusintheliterature,withfewsubstantivedocumentedexamplesofthisworkinthecontextofCanadian schools, we trust that this project will inspire a multijurisdictional research project, and inform student assessment practices and policy development in Alberta and in other provinces and territories in Canada.

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